Drawing the Short Straw
by AkaneKitty
Summary: How does Razor capturing a thug help him get Felina's gun back to her? Warning: Mature and explicit content.
1. Inconsiderate Friends

Hello everyone! AkaneKitty here. New fic time! This is called "Drawing the Short Straw".

Inconsiderate friends place Razor and Lieutenant Felina Feral into interesting situations...

Author's note: Wow! A story that isn't about Feral and Callie? Yep!

This story came about because I wanted to stretch my wings with other characters from the SWAT Kat universe. This is the result. I also use new writing techniques and write something that I've never done before, which shows up in a later chapter.

This story (or at least pieces of it) was thought up before I wrote Katatonic. So I've been stewing about it for awhile.

Thanks to Ulyferal for being my beta, and for the encouragement.

I welcome any and all reviews, so let me have it.

Hope you all enjoy this. I had a blast writing it.

-AkaneKitty

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Drawing the Short Straw

Chapter 1: Inconsiderate Friends

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"You have a what?"

"A date. You know...something you should try sometime."

"Ha ha. Very funny." Jake Clawson snorted sarcastically as he looked up at his soon to be ex-friend, Chance Furlong, from the greasy engine block he was working on. "Who is she?"

"Pop's granddaughter. You've seen her before. The one with the huge..."

Jake held up a paw. "Spare me the details. When is the date?"

"Tonight."

"Tonight!" Jake's voice dripped with angry surprise.

Chance looked a bit sheepish as he watched Jake extract himself from the car's hood. "Well, this is her only night off since she helps out with Pop's Comic Stand all the time so I had to..."

Jake's glare made the tabby shut up. "Chance, this is our patrol night! You know I wanted to test out the new Cyclotron I've designed!"

"Yeah, well, you drew the short straw last week which gives me a night off." Chance shrugged. "I'm just cashing it in."

"Oh really?" Jake always felt that contest was rigged. But he had another pressing question. "So even with all this wonderful planning of yours, you somehow forgot to ask if she had a friend?"

Chance blinked. He was so focused on getting a date that he forgot about his buddy. "Well, I..."

"Forget it!" Seething, Jake slammed down the hood of the car. "I'm going to go get ready for patrol. You can finish these cars by yourself."

"Hey!" Chance called after him. "I have to get ready, too!"

"Just run your paws through your fur!" Jake tossed back over his shoulder. "That's all you do anyway!"

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**Later that evening...  
**  
"Joey! Another beer, please."

Lieutenant Felina Feral slid an empty bottle away from herself as Joey, bartender for the night club called Anchovy, cracked open another bottle.

"Lieutenant! What happened to your friends?" Joey raised his voice to be heard over the pulsing music of the club. "I thought this was to be a Girls Night Out?"

"It was. But I got ditched." Felina waited until Joey placed a beer in front of her before continuing. "Cassie and Lynda found the loves of their lives again and split."

"...Didn't they find the loves of their lives last week, too?"

"Yep. Funny, isn't it?" Felina sighed. "I need better friends...or at least better drinking buddies."

Joey looked Felina over as she started on her beer. The Enforcer was dressed to kill in a short, black halter dress with a zipper front and stilettos. Heavy bracelets on both arms completed the look. "You could find the love of your life now, Lieutenant. You're certainly dressed for it."

Felina smiled at him. "Thanks, Joey. But this is a Girls Night Out. It's all about laughing over drinks, some mild flirting with Kats to get even more free drinks, and maybe getting a phone number or two to call afterward. It's not a trolling session, and I refuse to combine the two."

"Really."

"Besides, I'm due in court tomorrow. A hangover I can deal with if asked but a previously unknown Kat or she-kat discovered in my bed, well..."

"Hard to explain that one away, eh?"

"As archaic as it sounds, it calls my ethics and decisions into question. I refuse to hurt my status as an Enforcer or my Uncle like that."

"I see."

"And now, I have to do the bar hop all by myself. I really do need better drinking buddies." Felina drained her beer in one go and signaled to Joey. "Another shot for the road, Joey."

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The newly designed Cyclotron handled like a dream.

Dressed in blue and black racing leathers rather than his g-suit, Razor cruised the streets of downtown MegaKat City.

"The nerve of that kat!" Still seething, Razor barely patrolled the streets, using the time to work out his anger instead.

Throughout their friendship, Razor always tried to be a good wingkat. Asking dates if they had friends for his buddy, not trying to leave his friend in the lurch if something came up when he had a night off, and generally being a good pal.

But tonight...

Razor revved the throttle. He could understand it if this was a one time situation. Hell, it happened occasionally when you scored a great date. But this had been happening way too frequently (and on patrol nights) to be a coincidence. Where the hell was Chance finding these she-kats and why wasn't he invited?

Now here he was, on patrol, stuck testing out his new bike alone. "T-Bone is so going to pay for thi-" Razor began to grouse when...BZZT!

"Bzzt?" He blinked in startled surprise, jerking his attention down to his gauges.

His power levels were dropping off rapidly which meant the bike was going to stall out, leaving him stranded if he didn't figure out what the problem was. He needed a concealed place to hide and work on his bike, so quickly scanned his surroundings.

"Oh, great!"

He was in the middle of MegaKat City's bar district. According to his watch, last call was going to be in another hour or so, which meant the streets would soon be filled with toms and she-kats heading home. And since this was the middle of the week, those Kats would be off duty Enforcers. Crud!

If T-Bone were around, he'd just scoop him up into the TurboKat but he wasn't, so it was time for Plan B.

Looking around, Razor remembered there was a nearly concealed alley nearby. He could hide himself and his bike in there until he fixed his ride or until the Enforcers went home. He could still be discovered if someone got nosy or drunk, but it was a risk he was forced to take.

Power levels nearly depleted, Razor coasted his bike into the alley. It was barely in the shadows before the Cyclotron shuddered to a stop. Hopping off, Razor propped the bike against a wall and removed his helmet and leather jacket, revealing the top of the form fitting black and blue body suit underneath. Removing some tools from a pocket, he sat on the ground, starting work to remove a panel on his bike.

It was going to be a long night.


	2. An Unexpected Meeting

Hi, everyone! Time for another chapter.

Disappointed with their friends, Felina and Razor meet in an unusual place.

Author's notes: I neglected to mention that the Felina I'm writing about here comes from the Happy Hour series, which is a collection of ficlets. You don't have to read them; all it would add to this story is background information, like the fact that Felina and Callie are drinking buddies.

Thanks to ulyferal for being my beta.

Thanks for reading! I'm flattered.

-AkaneKitty

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Drawing the Short Straw:

An Unexpected Meeting

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"What the hell am I doing here?"

Felina looked at her reflection in the ladies bathroom mirror. This was her third bar, stopping in a club called Pure. She was amazed that she had the restroom (and mirror) all to herself, but she remembered that it was last call. All available she-kats would be out near the bar trying to get last drinks or score free ones from inebriated toms.

Felina looked down at the sink. Sitting by the faucet was a half finished warm beer. Although she continued her bar hop, Felina only ordered a single beer from each bar and nursed it the entire time she was there. She shrugged off both sexes attentions toward her...even though she appreciated it, her heart and body wasn't in the right place. Felina wanted a friend. What she got was a smack in the face.

She didn't really understand it. Maybe she was more irritated at being ditched. After all, if some cute tom or she-kat spoke to her, she wouldn't brush off her drinking buddies just to go off with them. Supreme catches maybe...but everyone knew who those were and they would be encouraging her to score that tail. And trolling missions were just that: trolling missions. No one expected to be together at the end of the night unless the pickings were dire.

Felina sighed. Maybe she should just be drinking buddies with the Deputy Mayor from now on. Too bad she would be in budget talks all this month, but Felina could wait. As for now...

It was time to call it a night.

Felina grabbed her beer and overturned it, letting its contents drain into the sink. She then chucked the bottle into a nearby trash can. Checking out her reflection in the mirror, Felina grabbed a lip gloss from a small pocket inside her dress and dabbed it on. She debated with herself for about five minutes, questioning whether her dress showed enough cleavage, but she settled the debate by lowering her zipper a half inch. No sense not receiving any compliments just because she had a bad night.

Exiting the restroom, Felina decided to take a back exit out of the club, in order to avoid the crush of Kats on the dance floor. A cool breeze greeted her as she stepped out into the night. The bars were still in last call mode, so there wasn't anyone in the alley or streets. That would change in an hour.

'All right, Felina...Where to now?'

Her stomach growled. She could really go for a fishburger and a milkshake right about now but the best burgers were down at Rico's by the Wharf. She could hail a cab...however, her attire might be overkill for a burger this time of night. But Rico's did make a killing off the Enforcer club crowd by staying open later for the officers. His burgers were to die for...but going there alone...not something she wanted to do. Decisions, decisions...

"Damn it!"

Felina's ears flicked in the direction of the voice. That sounded like it was in the next alley over. It was faint...the bass from the club nearly covered it up. Didn't sound distressed, but rather annoyed...or frustrated. It could be nothing, but Felina had to at least check it out. She would kick herself if she discovered the next day that something happened and she didn't do anything about it.

Pulling up her dress on her right leg, Felina retrieved her non-service gun from its holster, which also served to hold up her thigh high stockings. Flicking the safety off, she moved quickly and quietly to the other alleyway, thankful the music bleeding from the clubs would cover any sound her stilettos made on the concrete.

Rounding the corner to the adjacent alley, Felina kept her piece low and slightly behind her, not wanting any light to be reflected by her gun. Slowly, she crept deeper into the alley.

There, in the shadows, was a familiar looking Kat hunched over a very familiar looking bike. The tom was small built and wore blue and black racing leathers. A jacket and helmet were laying on the seat. The bike was composed of the same colors as his leathers. The tom seemed to be getting even more frustrated as a panel, located at the rear of the bike, resisted his efforts to pry it off.

Felina pondered the situation for a moment. Blue, and black? Is that...

Suddenly, the kat's ear turned her direction. A split second later, a paw filled with what looked like a weapon came up, pointed directly at her, with the kat's body following suit. Reflexively, Felina brought up her own gun, keeping her claw off the trigger, but holding it dangerously close by. As her eyes got more accustomed to the shadows, she blinked her eyes in recognition.

"Razor?"

"Lieutenant?"

Razor blinked in shocked surprise, letting his glovatrix drop a bit. Standing before him was Felina, looking quite unlike he had ever seen before. Instead of a loose fitting uniform, she wore a black zipper halter dress that hugged her every curve, along with very high heels. And the way she set the zipper on her dress showed ample...and very lovely...cleavage. She was, as T-Bone would say, a total knockout.

Thankful the shadows concealed his stare, Razor coughed slightly to break the silence that had fallen between them. Mother always said to pay a compliment to a lovely she-kat than to stare and say nothing, so he did.

"Wow, Lieutenant...You look amazing!"

"Uh...Thank you."

Even though Felina was slightly in the shadows herself, Razor saw her redden slightly and lose that air of composure she had earlier...almost looking embarrassed. She recovered quickly by holstering her gun, very aware that she was exposing her holster turned garter to the SWAT Kat. She quickly covered her gun up with her dress.

"What are you doing here, Razor?" Felina asked trying to be nonchalant as she walked up to the tom's side. "This place will be flooded with off duty Enforcers soon, you know."

Razor's eyes had been glued to those hips as they came closer to him so had to snap his attention up to her face when she spoke, glad for the mask that hid his own blush.

"Yeah, I know." Staring down at his bike, he gave a disgusted sigh. "Not my choice though. I was out testing this new prototype Cyclotron when it suddenly crapped out on me. I was barely able to get to this alley before it quit entirely."

"Why couldn't T-Bone pick you up? I've seen him do it lots of times."

He snorted. "He probably would...if he wasn't on a date."

"Oh?"

"This is our usual patrol night and I was planning on testing the Cyclotron with him running backup. Except he informs me at the last minute that he has a date, and since I lost a bet, I was on my own for patrol."

"I see."

"And that made me so mad, I apparently left without my proper tools! Now I have nothing to pry this panel off to repair the bike." Razor looked at his bike in disgust. "Wait until that idiot gets his tail home, he's going to get an earful from me! However, that doesn't get me home right now."

Felina looked at the bike for a moment, and then raised the hem of her dress slightly on her left leg, revealing a small wallet like pouch secured by her stockings. Pulling it out, she opened it and grabbed what appeared to be a small multipurpose knife set out of it. She handed it to Razor.

"Will this do?"

Razor stared at it. "Uh...yeah...thanks."

"No problem."

Turning back to his bike to work on the panel...and slightly disappointed that he wouldn't see more leg, Razor looked back at Felina. "Nice kit. What else do you have in there?"

"Spare ammo, small ballistic knife, pen light..."

"Can I use that last item, please?"

"Sure."

Felina handed over the pen light and returned the pouch to her leg. Walking over to Razor's bike, she leaned against the wall a moment, watching, until Razor pulled his jacket of the Cyclotron's seat and spread it on the ground. He then motioned for her to sit down.

"Sit on my jacket."

"Thanks." Felina sat as gracefully as she could, curling her legs beneath her while Razor continued to work on the panel.

"So, Lieutenant...what brings you out here?"

"Bar hopping. That is, I was going to until my two so called 'friends' found the loves of their lives and ditched me." Felina sighed. "I tried to continue the hop afterwards, but I just couldn't get into it. That's why I was leaving early."

Razor made sympathetic noises. "Sounds like we're in the same boat then. Ditched by inconsiderate friends."

"Indeed."

As Razor continued to work on his bike, Felina eyed him more closely. There never was an opportunity to see the guys for long as they always left quickly to avoid her uncle's ire, so it was nice to get a chance to do so now.

The tom wasn't as brawny as his partner, his frame more lean and shorter in stature but she could plainly see he was really built and muscular...he looked...very nice.

"You know, SWAT Kat...You should wear your racing leathers more often."

"Oh?" Razor paused a moment to glance over at her. "Why's that?"

"Hmm, because it shows off those fine muscles of yours." Felina smiled a bit. "I'm guessing your g-suit hid them."

"I'm a nth degree black belt and load most of my ordinance. Of course I would have some muscles." Razor chuckled then gave Felina a sly look. "And may I say, your own uniform hid a very fine and lovely figure as well."

"My regular uniform is more about protection than looks. My dress uniform shows a bit more, but nothing like this."

"Obviously."

"So..." Felina's smile grew a bit bigger. "Anything else you're hiding?"

Razor knew a "trick" question when he heard one. Most of the time, she-kats asked him questions to see if he would blush, or get embarrassed. He wasn't sure why. While he did tend to get overshadowed when T-Bone was around, he didn't get flustered, or shy around them. Besides, he always had the perfect comeback for those types of questions.

"I'm not sure, lieutenant," Razor replied evenly, returning his attention to the Cyclotron's panel. "Care to find out?"

Felina was silent for a moment, but even Razor could hear the playful tone that crept into her voice when she spoke again.

"Awhile ago, I once told a friend I would eat you alive. Now, I'm not so sure..." Felina felt her cell phone vibrate and stood up. Giving Razor one of her best seductive looks, she murmured, "...so don't tempt me, Gunny."


	3. Commiseration

Hello everyone! AkaneKitty here. This is the third chapter of Drawing the Short Straw

As Razor attempts to repair his bike, he and Felina commiserate over their inconsiderate friends.

Author's notes: First, thanks for the reviews! I usually like thanking people in personal e-mail if I have it, but since I don't for this particular person, I'll say it here: Thanks Zangetsu! I'm glad you liked this. And you, too, Ether! I'm flattered.

Razor the smart ass...For some reason whenever I write the wizzo he often ends up this way in my writing. I like him this way.

Thanks to Ulyferal for being my beta and for the encouragement. Also Uly, I added something to the end of this chapter that I think fixes the problem I was having with a specific plot point. I reread the snippet you wrote and got inspired. I hope it turns out well.

Thanks for reading!

-AkaneKitty

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Drawing the Short Straw:

Commiseration

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Razor didn't know what to think of that exchange, so he was sort of relieved when Felina walked away to answer her cell phone. This was a side of her that he'd never seen before.

His previous dealings with the Lieutenant were strictly business as there was always some tail to be kicked. And, besides that, he couldn't forget she did kick tail as her uncle's unspoken second in command a great deal.

But the Felina that stood a few feet away was softer, feminine, and very sexy.

Hmm...Very nice and distracting.

Chiding himself, he returned his attention to his bike, suppressing a celebratory yell when the rear panel finally popped off. Lifting the panel away, he laid it on the ground beside him then shone the borrowed penlight in the Cyclotron's depths.

"T-Bone, you jerk!"

Inside the Cyclotron was a tangled mess of wires. None were grouped together nor had an easily identifiable marking scheme, and all the wires were the same color. In fact, the guts of his bike reminded Razor of the time he had to defuse one of Dark Kat's bombs.

He sighed. This was the last time he would ask T-Bone for a favor when the tom was distracted by the green eyes of the Deputy Mayor.

"What do you want, Lynda?"

Razor's ears pricked up at the tone in Felina's voice. Even though she had moved some distance away from him, her voice still carried clearly to where he sat.

"No, I will NOT go back and bar hop with you! Don't you know that last call is going on right now?"

Trying not to eavesdrop on her conversation, Razor returned his attention to his bike, making some attempt to figure out what wire went where but it was proving to be easier said than done as he couldn't keep his mind on his work with such fascinating tidbits floating to his ears.

"What happened? He wasn't a good enough fuck?"

A laugh, quickly stifled, burst from Razor at that comment. Wow, he needed that.

"I'm done doing this with you, Lynda. Don't call me to go bar hopping again. I'm sure Mr. Right Now will be a great drinking buddy," Felina growled, snapping her phone closed.

With the conversation obviously over, Razor could hear Felina walking back towards him, so he forced himself to focus on his task and look busy...which wasn't too hard as T-Bone had truly made a mess of things.

"I need better friends!" Her voice groused just above him.

"Oh yeah? Me too!"

Felina dropped down on Razor's jacket once more. "So, you finally got the panel off! Can you fix what's wrong?"

In response, Razor shined the pen light into the guts of the Cyclotron. Felina followed the light with her eyes...and cringed.

"Ugh! That...isn't pretty."

"I told T-Bone to wire up the Cyclotron while I handled an issue with the Turbokat," Razor said through clenched teeth. "This is the result."

"So I see."

"I know I'm anal about wiring schematics but T-Bone knows that if he makes it so I can fix it on the fly, I'll be OK with it. I can always go back and fix it to my liking later." Razor sighed. "But this? I would never leave the Turbokat in a lurch like that!"

Felina said nothing, continuing to stare at the wires. "Hmm...It looks like some of your leads aren't plugged in entirely."

"Huh?" Razor followed Felina's line of sight and spotted the problem. "You're right. Some of the leads must have gotten loose after I went over some potholes. How did you guess that?"

"Prior to getting upgrades, the Enforcer helicopters used to have that problem. After a battle, the wires loosened somehow." Felina replied as Razor started checking his wire leads. "It got so bad, I made it a part of my pre-flight routine to check them. Didn't want to crash over something as simple as loose wire leads."

After spending a few moments making sure all his wire leads were plugged in, Razor stood up and pressed the push button ignition starter on the Cyclotron's control panel. To his relief, the bike roared to life. As he quickly placed the panel back on, Felina had stood up then reached down for his jacket.

"Thanks, Felina."

"No problem."

He held out Felina's knife and pen light, but Felina shook her head, handing Razor his jacket instead.

"Keep it. You might need it again. I'll collect them from you later."

Tucking the tools in a spare pocket, Razor slid into his jacket. "You were a big help, lieutenant. I wish I could make it up to you."

"Really?" Felina started to wave Razor's good intentions off, but her rumbling stomach changed her mind. "I know! Give me a ride to the wharf."

"The wharf?" Razor looked confused. "What's there?"

"Rico's. I'm craving a fishburger and a milkshake right now and his are the best." Felina replied. "Want one? It'll be my treat."

"Hmm...The wharf's a good twenty or so minutes away, and I'm supposed to be on patrol."

"I'm sure if anything happens you'll be able to get back and stop it. At least you're dressed for the part. I'll have to explain to the press why I'm dressed up in hooker heels."

Razor chuckled at that. "True..."

"Besides ..." Felina gave Razor a sly look, "...the way you drive that thing, I'm certain you'll be able to cut that time in half."

"Why lieutenant...should a high ranking Enforcer, such as yourself, be encouraging a vigilante to break the law?" He smirked at her as he put on his helmet.

"You're already breaking the law, smartass. What's another speeding violation?" Felina snorted, enjoying their bantering immensely.

Razor laughed, feeling his mood lighten for the first time since the night began. "Okay, you've convinced me. Let me get you a helmet...it might mess up your hair, though..."

"It's not my hair I'm worried about." Felina made a face. "It's the fact that my dress might ride up. That could be embarrassing, even for me."

"And that's a bad thing?" Razor pulled out a spare helmet from the Cyclotron's storage space and handed it over to Felina. "Think of it this way, lieutenant ...at least I'll be able to look at your great legs."

To her chagrin, Felina found herself blushing but recovered quickly by pulling on the helmet. Satisfied he had put the beautiful she-kat on the defensive in their playful battle of witty repartee, Razor climbed on the Cyclotron and waited for Felina to do the same.

Maybe this night could be salvaged after all.

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Elsewhere...

An armed guard watched closely as a Siamese tom dressed in a very expensive suit pressed his paw against the pawprint scanner recessed into a wall. Despite knowing who the tom was, the guard nonetheless held his rifle at the ready, his claws inches from the trigger.

The display of force didn't bother the kat. After loyalty, one of the most important principles the Syndicate demanded adherence to was security. It was imperative that each member was exactly who he or she said they were and they must be willing to prove it at any notice.

Even the Boss himself.

A light above the scanner flashed green, and a heavy door began to slide open with an audible hiss. Visibly relieved, the guard slung his gun over his shoulder and bowed his head slightly, stepping back out of the way. Nodding, the tom stepped through door.

The mechanical clicks and chirps of computers greeted the tom. The room housed one of The Syndicate's many observation posts. Information was another principle the Syndicate valued, so observations posts were needed to collect and store information The Syndicate's Council found relevant.

Walking through the room, the tom glanced at the banks of screens that lined the walls. Each screen displayed information on various subjects, ranging from text to video feeds. Nothing displayed interested the tom, but he didn't come for that.

At the center of the room, the tom found who he was looking for. Hunched over a keyboard, a grey kat dressed in a white lab coat typed with blinding speed. Nicknamed Doc due to his intimate knowledge of robotics, the kat controlled many of the Monitors the Syndicate dispersed throughout MegaKat City. The tom coughed slightly to announce his presence.

"Doc?"

The grey kat stopped what he was doing and leapt to his feet. "Boss!"

The Boss smiled. Even though he considered Doc to be a close friend, Doc never called him by his name, even when he'd insisted. So with a slightly heavy heart, he called his good friend Doc.

"Your message said you had important information to report."

Doc bowed his head slightly. "I'm sorry to interrupt your evening."

The Boss waved the apology away. "Don't be. I'm glad to get away from that bunch for the moment. Budget planning dinners are so boring."

"I see."

"So what is this important information?"

Doc sat back down behind his computer. "Monitor Four has sent me a video feed you might find interesting."

"Monitor Four...Isn't that the one shadowing the Commander's niece?"

"Lieutenant Felina Feral of the MegaKat City Enforcers." Doc nodded. "She's been an interesting study. Likes to separate her work and her personal life. Doing her part not to harm the Enforcers, I suppose. But she loves to have fun. Watch the screens."

Doc pressed a key and all the screen's images were replaced with a sing video feed. Doc pressed another key and the video began playing. The Boss watched as Felina walked right up to the front of the line at a club called Anchovy and waltzed right in, much to the chagrin of the partiers waiting in line. The Boss' blue eyes widened slightly at the Lieutenant's after hours look.

"...She should dress down more often."

"I knew you would say that."

The Boss cleared his throat to cover his slight embarrassment. "But I'm sure that's not the reason you called me."

"No." Doc pressed another button. "This is."

The screen switched to what The Boss assumed was a back alley. He recognized Felina again, but he was having trouble recognizing the tom she was talking to. The kat sat hunched next to a bike.

"Who is that?"

"You don't recognize the colors?"

The Boss stared at the screen. "Is that a SWAT Kat?"

"Yes. Specifically it's Razor, the weapons officer."

"Really." The Boss continued to look at the screen. "How did they meet up?"

"I'm thinking accidentally." Doc sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. "From what I've seen of the Lieutenant, she would never let either SWAT Kat see her dressed that way on purpose."

"That sounds right."

"And since Monitor Four is also reporting that they have ridden off somewhere together, I'm asking how you wish to proceed." Doc turned toward his friend. "This is the first time a Monitor has gotten this close to a SWAT Kat, so I didn't want to assume anything and jump the gun on what you have planned."

"Wise decision." The Boss tugged at his sleeves, thankful he'd worn his suit jacket into the cold room. "What are the kill orders for the Monitors?"

"They have none. They are on strict observation protocols at moment."

"For Monitor Four, I want it to collect as much information on the SWAT Kat as possible." The Boss jammed his paws into his pockets. "If an opportunity presents itself, I want it to kill him."

Doc's paws were already flying over the keyboard. "Yes, sir."

"If Monitor Four is able to kill the SWAT Kat, it makes our nine lives in this city much easier. Besides, I've always wanted to see our Monitor's lethal abilities in action."

Doc nodded, his paws still flying over his keyboard. "And the Lieutenant?"

"She is not to be harmed. My sister likes her. If anything was to happen to Felina, my sister will be very upset. And you know me, Doc..."

The Boss turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Doc to his computers.

"Anything that upsets my sister **greatly** upsets me."


	4. The Waiting Game

Hello everyone! Here's another chapter of Drawing the Short Straw

At the wharf, Felina and Razor exchange charged banter over fishburgers. Will Razor be able to keep ahead of Felina's game? Or has Felina met her match?

Author's notes: Thanks for the reviews! And welcome pani zagloba! Glad everyone is enjoying this story.

Spotlight on Felina: Whenever I write Felina, I tend to soften her up just a tad. But only when she's out of uniform. As Doc stated in the previous chapter, she likes to have her fun, but it's usually discrete. Razor happened to catch her at the right time. And the only other she-kat that knows about it is Callie.

I like showing the Felina can be just as feminine as Callie, but in her own way. She definitely has her own style.

Thanks always to Ulyferal for being my beta.

Thanks for reading!

-AkaneKitty

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Drawing the Short Straw

The Waiting Game

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Sitting on a picnic table, Felina nibbled at her fishburger, watching with interest as Razor made some adjustments to the Cyclotron.

After arriving at the wharf, Felina guided Razor to an out of the way spot where he could continue to work on his bike and not be seen by nosy kats. In the meantime, Felina headed over to Rico's stand and placed an order, glad that the usual crowd wasn't around. She'd hate to have to explain where she was heading to all by herself.

It was surprising.

Felina was used to every type of tom and she-kat. She knew what buttons to push, what tantalized them, and what would have them eating out of her paw. But Razor was different.

Not only did he have an answer for all her flirtations, but he also put her on the defensive, making her blush. No tom had done that in some time.

The wizzo was proving to be quite unlike what she had expected...and it was an unusual turn on. So on the way to the wharf, she spooned into him a lot more than a normal passenger would, but all she got in response was him saying she felt soft.

Smartass!

Crossing her legs, she watched as Razor meticulously went over his bike, made notes in a notepad he had found, and ate his burger whenever he came up for air.

She could just see the wheels turning in his head. Gunny, a new nickname she found herself calling him, was proving to be a most interesting kat.

Too bad he was a SWAT Kat, else...

"French fry."

"Huh?"

Razor, who looked like he was taking another break, stood up and pointed to his mouth. "French fry, please."

"You have paws."

"I don't want grease getting on my gloves. Those French fries are swimming in it."

Smirking, Felina retrieved a few French fries from a sack and popped them into Razor's mouth. "Don't have many she-kats feeding you, Gunny?"

"Not many that dress like you do, lieutenant."

Felina's smile turned seductive. "You like what you see?"

Razor picked up his milkshake from the table and deliberately took a sip before answering. "I love what I see. I'd be dead not to."

"Really."

"Besides," Razor put down his milkshake and returned to his bike. "It's just too bad you're the Commander's niece."

Certain Felina was thrown off her game again, Razor began fiddling with his bike. What a she-kat! Knowing what kind of game she was playing, he just hoped he could keep one-step ahead of her.

Not that he minded if he was caught. Felina was quite unlike what he first thought of her. She said she thought she could eat him alive, that may be true, but it didn't mean they couldn't have some fun first.

Messing with a control panel, Razor smiled. On the way to the wharf, Felina had spooned into him rather cozily. She felt soft (which he'd mentioned when they got to the wharf) and smelled nice. Was it perfume or soap? He couldn't place it. All he knew was it wasn't cordite and gun oil. He was digging this feminine side of Felina, and it didn't hurt she had a mind and body to match.

Pressing a button, a panel on the Cyclotron slid back to reveal his armaments. It contained all of what he would need in a night: backup ammo for his glovatrix, spare ammo for his mounted turret system, and a broken down sniper rifle, complete with spare ammo.

He hadn't developed a need for the sniper rifle yet, but who knew when T-Bone would drop him off somewhere and he would have to take a shot? Better to be prepared than be sorry.

"Nice rifle."

Razor looked up to see Felina standing over him, looking into the Cyclotron's depths with interest.

"You think so?"

"Of course." Felina looked down at him and smiled. "May I see it?"

"Let me see yours and you have a deal."

"...Is this a thinly veiled attempt to see my leg?"

"Actually, I would like to see your tail, but I'll settle for your leg." Razor smirked at her. "They are very nice."

A bit vexed the SWAT Kat managed to keep ahead of her, Felina slid her sidearm from its holster as Razor retrieved his sniper rifle. Handing Razor her gun butt first, Felina eagerly took procession of the rifle.

"Hey...Isn't this a Pumadyne prototype?" Razor gave Felina's gun a quick once over. "I remember they were trying to get into the small arms market."

"It was. They gave it to me for testing in the field." Felina replied. "It's a bit smaller than my regular sidearm, but it's powerful enough. I use it as my second gun and now as my non-duty gun."

"I see."

"...and it's small enough to fit under a fur tight dress...as you could tell."

"Obviously." Razor looked down the gun's sights. "Nice balance."

"So is this." Felina was careful not to mess with the rifle's sights. Razor had probably fine-tuned it to his liking. "Have I told you that I like toms who know how to use their piece?"

"I thought you went for pilots."

"Pilots tend to be too full of themselves. You should know, right?"

Razor laughed and handed Felina her gun. "True. But you're a pilot, Felina."

"Helicopter pilot mainly. I fly and shoot. I just tend to like guns more."

Razor stood up and leaned against his bike. "So what are you saying?"

Felina leaned in closer to him. "Just like you said it's too bad I'm my uncle's niece and too bad you're a SWAT Kat."

"I'm sure something as simple as that hasn't stopped you before, lieutenant."

"...and I'm still sure that I can eat you alive."

"You know, a lot of she-kats seem to think that." Razor nonchalantly, crossed his arms. "But I tend to change their minds in the end."

"Is that so?"

Smiling, Felina handed Razor his sniper rifle, allowing her claws to touch his. It was a very soft touch...gunners always needed deft touches, but hers was quite unexpected and sent tingles up Razor's spine.

Felina continued to smile. "I might just have to find out for myself, gunny."

"Oh, really?"

Felina's smile morphed into a smirk as she ran a claw along the barrel of Razor's sniper rifle.

"...but not tonight."

Giving him one last glance, she turned and walked back to the picnic table. As Felina resumed eating her meal, Razor could only shake his head, turning back to the Cyclotron while he began breaking down his sniper rifle.

Almost caught.

Razor found himself smiling at the thought.

Too bad...for her.

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Elsewhere...

Doc's paws flew over the keyboard at an amazing clip.

It was a skill born out necessity. With the amount of data that poured into the observation posts, speed was a valuable skill to have.

Pulling up Monitor's Four data on a screen, Doc chuckled to himself. The grey tom knew that The Boss would like the pretty Lieutenant. He always had a thing for she-kats that knew how to take care of themselves.

Perhaps it was because his sister was in fragile health. Who could really say?

But now it was time to focus on the task at paw.

The Boss' orders were simple: Kill the SWAT Kat and leave the Lieutenant unharmed.

Killing the SWAT Kat wasn't going to a problem. Doc had faith in the Monitor's lethality. He'd designed and programmed them himself. But keeping the Lieutenant unharmed...

Pushing a button on the keyboard, Doc pulled up Monitor Four's numerous protocols. Due to quirks in programming, protocols tended to override each other. Self-preservation protocols overrode kill orders if a protected subject dared to attack it. It was a stubborn bug he was chasing down.

If the Lieutenant tried to help the SWAT Kat, there might be some unfortunate "splash" damage.

Frowning, Doc pulled up the program that would bring all of Monitor Four's lethal abilities online. His claw hovered above the keyboard. He sincerely hoped that if any splash damage occurred, it wouldn't be enough to upset The Boss' sister. Because if she were to get upset...

Shuddering, and willing the Lieutenant to keep her distance, Doc pressed the button.


	5. Trouble Comes Knocking

Hello everyone! It's new chapter time of Drawing the Short Straw

Felina and Razor's impromptu evening comes to an abrupt end when a dangerous adversary crosses their path. Will they be able to survive this new threat?

Author's note: Thanks for all the reviews everyone! I glad you all like my story.

So I don't spoil anything, I'd like to dedicate to Mack Bolan. Because if I didn't read his books, I wouldn't have been able to write this chapter.

And the reason this chapter works is because of the awesome Ulyferal. She helped me out by soothing out quirks and fixing mistakes. Thanks! You're the best!

I'll have more thoughts about this chapter in the next author's notes.

Enjoy!

-AkaneKitty

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Drawing the Short Straw  
Trouble Comes Knocking

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"I'll walk you to your apartment's front door, Felina."

"You don't have to, Gunny. I'll be fine. It's only a few blocks away,"

"I'd consider it bad manners to let a lovely female such as yourself walk home alone. Especially since she bought me a fishburger."

Felina removed her borrowed helmet with a grunt. "I can take of myself..."

"I know that." Razor said, with firmness in his tone, as he powered down the Cyclotron. "Indulge me."

Felina made more protesting noises, but it was mostly for show. While she could and did take care of herself, she really didn't mind when a tom decided to be a gentlekat. To be honest, she rather liked it. Better than a tom not thinking at all and assuming she didn't appreciate such gestures.

"All right, Gunny. You win." Felina slid off the bike and punched Razor lightly in the arm. "But you're hiding your bike. It'll attract too much attention, even though not too many kats have moved here yet."

"Yes, ma'am."

Felina made her home in the new MegaKat City downtown district of La Galleria. It was mostly composed of shop storefronts with apartments and living spaces above them. Since the district was created recently, the only business established there was a small grocery store.

She and some other international business workers were the only kats that moved in to take advantage of the cheap rent. By the end of the year, the district would be full of shops and kats and the rent would go sky high.

Felina waited until Razor had stashed his Cyclotron into a hidden alleyway and returned to her side. She then led the SWAT Kat toward her building, which happened to be across the street from a pizza parlor that was opening soon.

Using her peripheral vision, Felina kept an eye on Razor. She noted how attentive he was, watching the shadows for anything out of the ordinary. She then realized she should be doing the same thing herself...but she was more concerned about something else.

Slowing to match Razor's gait, Felina linked her arm though Razor's, moving in close to him. Again, the wizzo could feel how soft she was.

"Fel-"

"Come on, Gunny! This will be the only time I'll be able to walk with you like this until Halloween." Felina squeezed Razor's arm. "Besides, if there are any nosy neighbors, all they'll see is a happy couple walking down the street."

Razor said nothing, covering his slight embarrassment and any warm feelings by continuing his watch. Something didn't feel quite right, and it was part of the reason he insisted on walking Felina as close to her apartment as possible.

That "sixth sense" that all gunners possessed was speaking to him and it was irritating that he couldn't pinpoint the danger. Finally, Razor just stopped in his tracks, nearly throwing Felina off balance. She unlinked her arm from his and eyed him questioningly.

"What is it?"

"Gunner's sense...or warrior's sense if you're feeling flashy." Razor reached into his jacket, pulling out what looked like sunglasses. Slipping them on over his mask, his claws started flying over his glovatrix. Felina was curious.

"Is that-"

"A portable Head's Up Display, or HUD for short. Very similar to the one I use in the Turbokat. It connects wirelessly to my glovatrix." Razor began scanning the street. "It's something I developed for use when I'm on the Cyclotron. Hadn't had time to test it until now."

"So what do you see?"

Razor's scan settled on a dark alley a block or so away. A grim smile lit his face. "I'm picking up a faint sound signature from that alley over there."

Felina turned her head to stare at the dark mouth of the alley. Nothing could be seen of course, as they were too far away, so that meant checking it out. Frowning, she reached for her gun. "I'll make first contact."

"Felina..."

"I carry official power. I can tell whoever it is to move along if it's nothing serious." Felina flicked off her gun's safety. "Besides, I'm sure you still want to continue your scan."

Reluctantly agreeing, Razor readied his glovatrix and followed her as she walked toward the alley slowly. Before turning into it, Felina brought her gun up in front of her. Razor stood beside her but out of sight of the alley mouth with his glovatrix raised.

She stepped into the center of the alley mouth, pointed her gun into the darkness and barked, "MegaKat City Enforcers! Come out slowly! Paws in the air!"

At first, there was nothing but silence, but soon a figure slowly emerged from the shadows. It was dressed totally in black, with a mask obscuring its face. Felina squinted to get a better look.

"I can't tell who that is. Can you, Razor?" She whispered.

Razor peered around the corner and using his HUD, zoomed his optics onto the figure. He recognized the outfit the figure wore as ninja garb, as well as the katana strapped on its back.

Frowning, he murmured, "... looks like one of Dark Kat's ninjas."

Felina's gun never wavered from her target as she asked, "Don't they operate in groups?"

"Usually."

"First time for everything," Felina muttered, then raised her voice. "You over there! Come forward slowly and get your paws-"

"Lieutenant!"

Felina barely had time to react when Razor tackled her, sending them both sprawling to the ground. Barely holding onto her gun, Felina tried getting up only to be knocked down again by Razor, who covered her.

"What are you doing?" She began to ask, angrily when she yelped as she heard something go flying overhead and implant itself with a sickening thud into the brick building behind her.

Razor rolled off, and Felina finally had a chance to see what caused the sound.

"Throwing stars?" Felina was mortified. "But I didn't see-"

"They're made of some sort of non-metallic alloy. You wouldn't have seen any glint." Razor answered Felina's unasked question. "I barely saw it with my HUD."

Razor noticed the ninja starting to advance, albeit slowly, toward them. He quickly glanced at Felina and said, "Two targets are harder to hit than one!"

She nodded. And with that, the two separated with Felina taking cover around the corner of the closest building. Razor sprinted across the street, trying to increase distance between himself and Felina. He could hear the throwing stars chase after him as he took cover behind a metal construction pillar. He stared across the distance at Felina.

"Wait for the pause!"

"Roger!"

More throwing stars were thrown at Razor's position, causing sparks to fly off the girders. At the rate the stars were being thrown, Razor began to suspect there was something odd about the ninja kat. Long moments passed as before the barrage finally ceased. Razor locked eyes with Felina.

"Now!"

Leaning out from cover, Razor and Felina fired their respective weapons. Bullets and mini missiles hit square the person in the chest, causing the ninja to stagger back and disappear in the resulting smoke. Both ceased firing, waiting for the fog to clear.

"Damn it!"

When the smoke dissipated, Felina could finally see the reason for Razor's curse.

The ninja strode confidently and calmly toward them, readying itself for another attack. Scorch marks and burnt clothing dotted the ninja's chest, yet it showed no signs of being injured in anyway. Felina couldn't believe it.

"Those were center shots! How can he still be standing?"

Razor once again focused his HUD's optics on the ninja, concentrating the visor's power on the it's chest. A grim smile played on Razor's lips as he confirmed his worst suspicions.

"It's a robot!" Razor cursed under his breath. "That explains how it's shooting those throwing stars so fast."

"What? I thought Dark Kat didn't like robots!"

"He doesn't! Not after he couldn't control the Metallikats!"

"So why is his ninja a robot?"

"Maybe it's not a Dark Kat ninja." Razor tried getting a better look but a barrage of throwing stars forced him back into cover. "To be honest, it looks more like the Metallikats' grown up kitten than anything else."

"How is that even possible? Other than reactivating Zed, can they even..."

"...Don't give me that visual, Felina." Razor tried making himself as small a target as possible as the assault continued. "And unfortunately for us, my armor piercing ammo is back with the Cyclotron!"

Felina ducked back behind her brick cover as some throwing stars found their way toward her. "So what do we do, Gunny?"

"I have to go paw to paw combat. It's got a katana, but I have something that will hopefully level the playing field for me." Razor replied, putting his HUD away. "But, first, I've got to disable that paw that's throwing the stars."

"On it! Just be ready to shoot!"

"What are you doing?"

"Just a little early practice for the annual MegaKat City Bravest and Finest softball game." Felina slipped out of her stilettos and crouched down to pick one up. She glanced over at Razor. "Ready?"

Razor waited for the precise pause that developed between throwing star barrages. It came fast.

"Now!"

With all the force she could muster, Felina heaved the stiletto at the ninja's paws. While the ninja turned slightly to focus its throwing stars at the shoe, Razor lined up his shot.

"One in million..."

With pinpoint accuracy, Razor shot a mini missile at the ninja's paw. To his satisfaction, he was rewarded with sparks and the barrage of throwing stars ceased. Bursting from cover, Razor retrieved the ASP, a retractable baton, he had hidden in a pocket and ran full tilt at the ninja. With a flick of the wrist, the ASP extended to its full length.

"Felina, if you've got a head shot, take it! That might be its weak point!"

"But..."

Razor leapt up and swung the ASP down at the ninja. Unfortunately, the robot recovered quickly and unsheathed its sword, blocking the attack. Landing back on his feet, Razor charged the robot again, swinging his ASP in an arc. Sparks flew as the ASP collided with the katana, and Razor was forced to use the ASP as an improvised sword. As the red eyes of the ninja robot gleamed at him, Razor hoped to hell that the katana wasn't sharp enough to cut through the thickened steel.

As Razor continued to parry the ninja's attack, Felina tried getting a line of sight on the robot's head. The robot moved too fast, and Razor's attempt to fight the ninja made a shot too risky.

"Damn it!" Felina cursed as she watched the sword fight continue. "No shot. I have to get closer.

Using Razor as a distraction, Felina slipped over to the concrete pillar Razor was using as cover. Readying herself, she aimed her side arm.

"Come on, Gunny...Give me a shot."

Mindful of Felina, Razor jumped back as the robot slashed at him. Before the robot could swipe at him again, Razor brought up the ASP, blocking the blade and pushing the robot back. Taking a quick look at his ASP, Razor remembered that the ASP could also be used as a shock baton. It lacked the punch of his mini Megavolt missiles, but it was capable of giving someone quite a jolt. In fact, he used it to override some electronic locks on the fly when he wasn't in the mood to use his glovatrix's hacking program.

That's it!

Tapping the bottom of the ASP, Razor activated the electrical component. The ASP vibrated slightly and small sparks arced from its tip as the ASP began charging. Now he needed to find a weak spot and...

"Gunny!"

Razor barely had time to react to Felina's yell when he saw the robot's free paw blur and crack him hard across the jaw. Stunned, he didn't even register the coppery taste in his mouth when the robot grabbed his jacket, hoisted him up, and slammed him brutally into the ground.

Air violently exploded out of Razor's chest and seconds later he lost the grip on the ASP, leaving him a crumpled heap on the ground. He wheezed as he tried to get up, noticing the looming shadow of the robot over him.

As the robot raised his blade, Felina stroked her trigger, shooting the robot point blank in the face. As her gun cycled on empty, the robot turned toward her.

"Felina!" Razor wheezed. "Run for it!"

She couldn't even do that as the robot was far too fast, batting the gun from her paw in a flash then clamping its metal paw around her throat. Lifting her off the ground, the red eyes of the robot gleamed as Felina clawed desperately at the paw tightening around her throat.

"Feral, Felina. Lieutenant Grade 1. MegaKat City Enforcers."

In their weakened conditions, its odd voice barely registered on Felina and Razor. The smaller SWAT Kat rolled over onto his paws and knees and blinked in shock. Was it talking? All Felina heard was a roaring in her ears from gradual air loss and spots before her eyes as it continued to choke her.

"Height: 5'8". Weight: 130. Family: Feral, Ulysses. Commander of MegaKat City Enforcers. No known significant relationships, male or female."

Razor, jaw throbbing with pain, tried desperately to get up. Eyes on Felina, the robot continued its monologue.

"Squad leader of Enforcer Helicopter brigade. Citations for bravery in the field. Up for promotion to Lieutenant Grade 2. 90% accuracy rating. Confirmed kills," the robot intoned emotionlessly. "Kill order: Not authorized."

When the robot reached that conclusion, it immediately eased its grip on her neck and released her to fall bonelessly to the ground, coughing and sucking in air.

Through with her, the robot turned to head for Razor. The SWAT Kat had managed to recover his ASP and had it hidden behind his back as he pulled his legs under him and stared at it defiantly.

As it approached, the robot intoned, "Razor. SWAT Kat. Weapons Officer. Height 5'9". Weight: 185. Suspected developer for Turbokat. 98.5% accuracy rating. Confirmed kills."

"Is that so?" Razor managed to rasp out.

The robot's eyes grew darker as it reached for the tom. "Kill order: Authorized."

"That's what you think!"

Razor leaped upward then lunged at the machine. The robot switched from reaching for the tom to using its blade, which blurred toward Razor's side. The SWAT Kat felt the icy burn of the blade as it sliced his left arm.

Barely flinching, and mustering his strength, Razor speared the ASP into the robot's eye. Springing back on his feet, he gripped his arm as he watched the robot claw at its face and staggered away.

Razor limped over as quickly as he could to Felina, who managed to get into a sitting position. "Fel? Felina, are you all right? We need to go now!"

Felina coughed and rubbed her throat. "Why? Is that thing dea-"

Not taking time to respond, Razor simply knocked Felina over, using his body to cover her. Felina was about to push the SWAT Kat off when she heard the loud crack of an explosion. Shrapnel rained down around them, and Razor was glad his leather jacket was thick enough to repel most of the pieces while others pierced the first layer. After a few minutes, everything was still, and Razor pushed up on his good arm.

Felina managed to lock eyes with him, and the swirls of emotion Razor saw told him what he already knew, and perhaps even more: That was too close.

Breaking eye contact by sheer force of will, Razor glanced back to where he last saw the robot. There was nothing left but a smoky blackened spot. As Razor stared back at the spot, he heard Felina cough a bit.

"You know, Gunny...another time, another place...I would be enjoying this."

"Huh?" Razor looked confused as he stared down at her and saw the teasing smile on her face. In an instant, he became very aware of where he was and hurriedly moved off her body.

Smirking, Felina pulled herself into a seated position while Razor, who was slightly embarrassed, searched for any new lights that might have turned on in any of the buildings around them, drawn by the explosion.

"Hmm...Doesn't look like anyone was disturbed by the ruckus," he commented.

Felina laughed lightly, stopping to rub her throat. "This is MegaKat City, Gunny. Unfortunately, it would take a larger explosion than that to get our fair katizens to panic and call the Enforcers."

"So I see." With the threat over, the last of Razor's adrenaline began to leave him and his body was letting him know just how hurt and sore it was. He decided sitting was a good idea and dropped to the ground beside her. "That's good for us."

Felina cast her eyes over his battered form and noted his left arm had been cleaved cleanly open by the robot's sword, going through the leather to the flesh beneath it. Blood began to seep out slowly.

Shaking her head, she reached over to roll up Razor's jacket sleeve to inspect the damage closer.

"Gunny, that wound looks bad."

"It feels like it, too."

"You need to go to a hospital for this."

"No way!"

"You need stitches and possibly a tetanus shot!" Felina retorted.

Razor shook his head defiantly. "No hospitals! I'm not going to risk being demasked!"

Felina let go of Razor's arm to cross her own arms over her chest. "So what will you do? You definitely can't ride your bike now."

"I'll think of something!"

"And you call us Ferals stubborn!"

"Well..." Razor managed to smirk, reapplying pressure to his arm, "...it takes one to know one, I suppose."

Felina stifled a laugh. Always the smartass.

There were a number of things she should be doing right now. Namely, reporting the incident to central command and taking a certain vigilante into custody. But, for once, she really didn't want to follow all those Enforcer protocols that had been drilled into her since the day she first signed up for the force.

Vigilante or not, the kat that sat beside her saved her life. That stood for something. And she at least owed it to him to help him out. She could always report the incident later, and bear her Uncle's wrath when he found out.

Smiling to herself, Felina extended a leg and began rolling down one of her stockings. Isn't this how she got together with Gabriel? Wounded in the field and she was the only trained combat medic around?

Funny how things turn out.

Razor was looking at her in shock. "What are you doing?"

"Gunny, you are causing me to violate a number of Enforcer protocols."

"Really? Such as?"

"Failure to report a crime to central command. Failure to report vigilante involvement. Failure to arrest vigilante. And..."

Felina took the stocking she had just rolled down and wound it around Razor's injured arm, making a makeshift tourniquet. "Rendering aid to a vigilante without proper authorization."

"There's a rule for that?"

"Well, it's mostly for providing support in the field, not medical aid. So maybe I won't get dinged for it."

Razor slowly stood up, and offered his good paw to Felina to help her up. "So what now?"

"You wanted to walk me home, Gunny. So you're walking me home." Felina stood behind Razor and started gently nudging him toward her apartment building. "And since you're talking to a former combat medic, I'm going to try and patch you up."

"I see."

"Think T-Bone will miss you? It is getting late."

Razor found himself too tired to care what his partner was up to. "Eh. If something happened, I'm sure I'll hear about it tomorrow. For now, I've got a pretty nurse to take care of me."

"Flatterer." Felina smiled. "That earns you a free massage, if you play your cards right."

Razor flushed, more out of pain than embarrassment. What exactly was he getting himself into?

Maybe he should have gone to the hospital after all.


	6. Patchwork

Hello everyone! Here's a new chapter of Drawing the Short Straw

As Felina tends to Razor's wounds, they both find themselves fighting deeper feelings for each other. Is it possible to have a moment during a firefight?

Author's notes: The previous chapter, Trouble Comes Knocking, was the first time I ever attempted any type of action scene. I'm glad it came off well. I owe it all to Ulyferal for her beta work and reading tons of Mack Bolan. In fact, I recommend anyone attempting action scenes pick up a Mack Bolan or The Executioner book for guidance. Some books are better than others, but you still get the gist of it.

I'm almost done with this story! I'm a little sad about it. Only a chapter and an epilogue to go!

Thanks for all the reviews, and welcome godofmadness43! I'm flattered that you all like my story.

Thanks again to Ulyferal for being a great beta. Hope you all enjoy!

Thanks for reading,

-AkaneKitty

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Drawing the Short Straw:

Patchwork

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"Here we are, Gunny. Have a seat."

Razor sat down gratefully on Felina's sofa as she closed her apartment door behind her. Wearily, he let himself sink into the plush cushions and watched Felina with bemused interest as she began tossing her personal items into obviously predetermined spots around her living room.

It looked like Felina would hurl her recovered, empty sidearm clear across the room, but apparently she thought better of it and placed it on a bookshelf. Her cell phone and makeup kit went on the coffee table in front of Razor.

Stopping for a minute to catch her breath, Felina caught the amused look on Razor's face. "What?"

"I'm always amazed at how she-kats can hide so much stuff on their body." Razor grinned. "It must be the curves."

"Yeah, yeah." Grinning herself, Felina walked over and poked Razor gently in the chest, pushing him back. "Sit back and relax. I need to get a good look at your jaw."**  
**  
Felina proceeded to feel along Razor's jaw line and up his cheeks with her fingers. Any thrill he might have gotten from her touch was tempered by the fact it was mostly clinical instead of affectionate.

"Hmm...Looks like your jaw wasn't broken or dislocated," Felina murmured mostly to herself. "But there's some swelling. You're going to have a hell of a bruise, Gunny."

"Tell me about it."

"Now sit still. I'll go get my med kit."

As Felina disappeared into what Razor assumed was her bedroom, he finally willed his body to relax. He was going to be sore the next day, but that was to be expected after the beating he took.

What a night.

What started as a simple Cyclotron malfunction turned into a night of fishburgers and battling a murderous robot ninja. That thought made him pause and frown. That robot bothered him. Why was it after Felina? What did it want with her? Sure, it wanted to kill him, but it was near her home. Razor was sure that wasn't a coincidence.

Maybe it was good thing T-Bone went on that date. It gave him an opportunity to be with Felina and protect her. Not that Felina needed to be protected, but he did help somewhat.

Just thinking about the pretty Lieutenant caused some new stirrings in Razor that he quickly squelched. Was it possible to have a moment during an explosion?

Sure the soft, sweet smelling, dressed to kill Felina was hot. But the wind tussled hair, runs in her stockings, and smelling of a firefight Felina was, in Razor's opinion, much hotter. Why hadn't he noticed it before?

Too busy dodging her angry Uncle, perhaps.

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Dropping to her knees, Felina grunted as she tugged the heavy combat medical kit from its hiding place underneath her bed. Heaving it upwards, she dropped the kit on top of the bed with a grunt.

There's a SWAT Kat in my living room, she thought. Wounded, but he was still a SWAT Kat. And she was going to render aid and let him go.

Uncle Ulysses would have a fit if he found out.

With a guilty sigh, Felina rose and sat beside the medical kit on her bed, removing the heavy bracelets from her arms. She opted not to change her clothes until after she tended Razor's wounds.

Just how many Enforcer rules and regulations was she breaking right now? Way too many to count. But all those rules crumbled because the kat who saved her life needed her help.

Gunny...She hadn't expected the SWAT Kat to be so charming...or cunning. He maneuvered around her flirtations like her ex, Gabriel Leon, did. Maybe with a bit more finesse. He wasn't a braggart like Gabe was. And she definitely wanted to see he if could use his piece...

Mortified, Felina shook her head, shaking away any feelings that bubbled to the surface. Why was she comparing the two toms? Sure they were both vigilantes (although Gabriel was "legal"), and they both had similar skills, but that's where the comparison ended.

Razor wasn't going to be her boyfriend, or even a future boyfriend. She was just going to patch him up, let him spend the night if he wanted, and send him on his way. She would then file the necessary reports at headquarters before heading off for her court date.

Besides, comparing Razor to Gabriel wouldn't be fair...to Gabriel.

"Let's see..." Felina opened her med kit and began looking around. "Seems like I have everything. Sterile needles, sterile water, bandages, gauze, peroxide...Argh! Where are my sutures?" Felina rooted through the kit before a realization dawned on her. She gritted her teeth. "Gabriel, you tomkat!"

The tom must have used the sutures to patch himself up without telling her. Felina seethed. Now she was going to have to find a suitable replacement. The tom could have at least told her, so she could have restocked the item. She didn't think Razor would do something like this. He seemed to act like a gentlekat.

Embarrassed that she found herself comparing the two toms again, Felina felt herself blushing and stood up, heading to her bathroom. She knew exactly what to use to replace those sutures.

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Razor was gingerly trying to remove his jacket over his wounded arm when Felina reappeared, med kit and some towels in tow. Placing them on the coffee table, she walked over to him and knelt down.

"Here, Gunny. Let me help you with that."

Felina gently eased the left sleeve of Razor's jacket over his wound as the SWAT Kat shrugged out of it. Paws touching briefly, the two locked eyes for a moment before Felina broke contact first and looked away, moving to the other side of the coffee table. A bit flustered himself, Razor tossed his jacket over the arm of Felina's sofa.

As Felina began placing towels on the coffee table, Razor spied a small box that was on top of the med kit.

"Dental floss?"

"It's replacement sutures." Felina made a face. "I had some in my kit, but a certain tomkat named Gabriel apparently used them all and didn't tell me!"

"Gabriel?" Razor asked. "Who's that?"

"An ex." Felina exhaled after counting to ten. "Don't ask."

"Ah."

Razor burned with questions, but decided to be polite and not push it. He focused on the box of dental floss instead. "Are you sure about the dental floss?"

Felina spied the face Razor made. "It's sterile!"

He smirked at her. "Is it wintergreen or minty fresh?"

"Look, smartass...," Felina smirked herself, "...keep that up, and I won't offer you a beer to take the edge off while I stitch you up."

"I don't need beer."

"Gunny, I'm going to be stitching you up without any anesthetic. It'll hurt like hell." Felina pushed her coffee table over so it was touching the couch. "I know you're tough, but just drink the beer."

Razor sighed in defeat. "All right."

Felina quickly dashed into the kitchen and opened her refrigerator, retrieving a few beers. Returning to Razor's side, she placed three beers on the table before sitting down, placing one beside her.

"In case I need it." Felina answered Razor's unasked question. "Now...Let me get to work.

Felina began dousing her paws with disinfectant and rubbed them together. As they began drying, she nodded at him.

"Better get drinking." Felina said as she pulled on some gloves. "Oh, can you grab the television remote and my cell phone? I'm not expecting any official calls but I do have to answer it. And turn on the TV. I need noise to do my best work."

Razor reached over and grabbed Felina's cell phone and the remote with his good paw. After turning on the TV, he placed the remote and cell phone on the end table next to the sofa within easy reach. As she began threading her needle with dental floss, he swung his legs upwards, lying down on the couch.

"Now to really inspect the damage..." Felina said, mostly to herself. Grabbing his arm and placing it on the towels, she reached up and undid her stocking tourniquet.

Blood flowed from the wound but quickly stopped, much to Felina's relief. At least it looked like that robot didn't nick an artery. Using some gauze, she wiped away some of the blood to get a better look.

"Looks like a clean cut. No jagged edges. That makes my work easier," she commented, opening a bottle of sterile water. "Doesn't look too deep, either. So you'll heal up nicely."

Razor cracked opened his first beer and took a pull from it. "That's good."

Felina flushed the wound with water, then doused it with peroxide. He winced, and took another pull from his beer. It was only going to get worse.

"All right, Gunny," Felina held up her needle. "You ready?"

He waved his beer and grunted, "Have at it."

Felina did, while he finished his first beer.

A few minutes later, Felina was into her third stitch and Razor was halfway through his second beer. Fumbling for the remote behind him, he started flipping through channels. He really needed a laugh about now to distract himself from Felina's stitch work.

"Hey, it's a Litterbin rerun," he announced, finishing off his second beer, watching as Litterbin interviewed a semi-famous brunette actress.

Completing her fifth stitch, Felina glanced back at the screen. "Hmm...She's cute."

"You think so?"

"Yeah." Felina returned her attention back to Razor's arm, smiling a little. "Too bad I prefer blondes."

"Really?" Not sure Felina was testing him again, Razor opened his third beer to give himself some time. "That explains the issue of Playkat I saw."

"I just read it for the articles."

"Felina, that's like saying **I** read it for the articles."

"You don't?" Felina's smile grew bigger. "For shame, Gunny."

Razor shrugged. "I read Danger Close magazine. Some of my best ideas come from there."

"And I'm sure the she-kats modeling the ammo are a great bonus."

Razor laughed despite himself. "You got me."

"You know...," Felina finished a sixth stitch, "...if you gave me half the stuff that magazine advertises, I would love you forever."

"If I made it and gave it to you, does that count?"

Felina gave Razor one of the most beautiful smiles he'd ever seen as she answered. "Be still, my heart."

The moment hung in the air and they both realized they had been staring at each other for several seconds. Not trying to hide her blush, Felina resumed her work while Razor covered his embarrassment by watching TV.

He heard a cell phone ring and Felina looked up in alarm, nearly pulling the stitch she was working on too tight.

"Is that-"

"An official Enforcer call! That's from Headquarters!"

"Um..."

"I hope no one called in that explosion and now Headquarters is calling to see why I haven't reported anything!" Felina panicked, but took a few deep breaths to calm down. "Answer it, Gunny. But be quiet."

Grabbing the cell phone, Razor pressed a button and the she-kat made herself sound as tired as possible. "Lieutenant Feral."

A familiar baritone voice answered. "I know it's three a.m., but you are not that tired, Felina."

"Uncle!" Felina looked panicked again, but kept it out of her voice. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. Why would you think that?"

"You're on the official line!"

"I am?" Razor heard some papers rustling. "You're right. My mistake. Sorry about that."

"Uncle, unless you're drunk dialing, you never make mistakes about the official Enforcer lines." Felina gently corrected one of her stitches, hoping Razor wouldn't make too much noise. "So what's up?"

"Hey, I haven't drunk dialed anyone in months," Feral chuckled. "But really I'm just finishing up calling all my majors. I like keeping them on their claws."

"I'm not a major, Uncle."

"Well, you'll carry the weight of one. The majors want you to be the new C3 officer."

"What?" Felina completely stopped her stitch work. "That's Command, Control, and Communications. I'm in the helicopter brigade. Besides, isn't that Major Lewis' domain?"

"Major Lewis is about to go on maternity leave. And since the majors are considering promoting you to Lieutenant Grade 2, they would like to see you in an administrative, yet public role."

The mere mention of a promotion caused Felina to remember what little she could of the robot's pronouncements. Just the thought that it was right about her possible promotion unsettled her. Razor noticed this as well and became concerned, hoping Feral wouldn't become aware of the pause.

"Felina?"

"I'm still here." Felina took a few deep breathes and focused her attention on her needle. "Is this going to ground me?"

"You'll be in the air less, but I assure you, if you need to be in the air, you'll be the first one up."

"But..."

"Felina, if you want to be a part of High Command someday, you're going to have to show the majors you can handle the public and do some administrative work." Feral paused a moment. "I...stretched my powers a bit to get you recommended. Normally I like to keep up appearances so I'm not accused of favoritism or nepotism, but I felt you deserved this chance."

Felina's smile could have melted hearts. "Thank you, Uncle."

"You're welcome, 'Lina." Feral cleared his throat. "So here are your official orders: Since I received a call that your court appearance is cancelled for the time being, you will report for evening duty. There you will shadow Major Lewis. Since she goes on leave soon, I'd pick up as much as you can. You'll be in the fire soon. Oh, and this means dress uniform from now on, not your standard uniform."

"Yes, sir."

"Now I'm off to start an argument between the armed response and street patrol brigades." Feral's voice had a touch of warmth behind it. "Good night, Felina."

"'Night, Uncle."

Razor pressed a cell phone button to end the call. He waited a few minutes to make sure it was clear before he gave Felina an inquiring look. "Lina?"

"Old family nickname." Felina made a noise, but she still smiled, resuming her work. "But, you call me that anywhere else other than the bedroom, and I will shoot you."

"Aww...but it's such a cute name!"

Felina pulled a stitch through and held up the needle threateningly. "I was in Special Forces. I know how to hurt you!"

Razor smirked. "Sounds kinky."

"I'm adventurous, Gunny, not that adventurous." Felina laughed, feeling her mood lighten. Then, she smirked. "Besides, good little toms don't write checks their tails can't cash."

Razor had no comeback for that so he shook his head instead, settling back as Felina continued stitching him up. After a while it became apparent that he hadn't minded his manners, so Razor strove to correct that.

"Lina?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Felina looked up at Razor and smiled a smile that melted his heart.

"You're welcome, Gunny."


	7. Drawing the Final Straw: Part 1

Hello everyone! Here's Part 1 of the final chapter of Drawing the Short Straw

When Felina tries to bolster her courage in order to take the next step, Razor ends up in dangerous territory...and finds that he likes it.

Author's Notes: So here it is: Part 1 of the final chapter of Drawing the Short Straw. I've had a blast writing this and I'm glad everyone enjoyed it.

At this point, I will add (and warn) that this chapter now starts the explicit nature of this story. Because of this (and the chapter was going to be too long) I split up the chapter. So if you don't want to read what goes on in the next chapter, you can skip to the epilogue. I like giving my readers options.

Readers really liked Feral's interaction with Felina. I'm glad it came across well, and hope you will like another character's conversation with Felina in this chapter, too.

Thanks to all my reviewers, and special thanks to Ulyferal, who got this chapter back to me very quickly. She made my work look good, and she's an invaluable beta and friend. Thanks Uly.

-AkaneKitty

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Drawing the Short Straw

Drawing the Final Straw: Part 1

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Felina hated feeling helpless...and vulnerable.

Freshly showered, and wearing an old Enforcer dress uniform shirt with the insignia removed, Felina ran her claws through her damp hair.

After patching Razor up, she had excused herself to cleanup. It wasn't a moment too soon since she wanted to get rid of that killer robot's residue as quickly as possible.

When her uncle pretty much confirmed the robot's pronouncement of her possible promotion, it shook Felina to the core. And she hated that. She knew it had to have handlers, so what else did they know about her?

Citations, her family and other things were public record. Anyone could look that up. But a possible promotion...Uncle Ulysses always kept those under wraps, and the only time you knew you were being promoted is when he pinned a new bar to your uniform.

Felina picked up her brush and began pulling it through her hair. Her nine lives were already an open book and she took great pains not to embarrass her uncle, her rank, or the Enforcers. It was her duty. But that robot stripped all that security away, leaving her feeling quite exposed.

It also didn't help that her sidearm was ineffective against the robot. If not for the fact the robot didn't have some kill order for her, she would be in a world of trouble. And if Razor hadn't been there...

She didn't finish the thought...trained to not delve into "what ifs". To start that would lead you spiraling down into a dark hole that took time to crawl out of. But she couldn't help herself. What if Razor hadn't been there...what if it had been an ordinary katizen? Would she be able to help them?

Frustrated, Felina shook her head. She needed to let off some steam and the only way to do that was to shoot something...or fuck something...preferably both.

She stared at her bedroom door, thinking about Razor. Why was she being so damn gun shy around the SWAT Kat now?

It wasn't fear of the unknown. She'd done too many one-night stands and walk of shames, for it to bother her anymore. And she could argue, she knew Razor a lot more than those toms.

They had flirted heavily the entire night and that's usually all she needed. Was it because he was injured? Or that it could be a betrayal against her uncle?

Or was she falling for the tom? She sighed, disgusted. What was with her falling for toms during gunfights?

At that moment, Felina's cell phone decided to chirp. She was grateful she remembered to bring her phone into the bedroom with her. Reaching across the bed, she grabbed it and pressed a button, knowing who it was by the signature ring alone...and the fact that only one she-kat would call her at this hour.

"Hello?"

"It is nearly four a.m. I'm craving a French 75 to help myself go to sleep. I go to my bar, and guess what happens? I find all my hard liquor gone and that a certain she-kat didn't do what she promised when she raided my bar!"

Felina blushed, her voice sheepish, "Sorry, Callie. I've been way too busy, and you haven't exactly been available yourself."

Callie made a rude noise. "These budget meetings have been a bitch! I'll be glad when they're over with so we can resume our happy hours."

"Me, too. I could use a drink right about now."

"What's been going on?"

"Uncle Ulysses called me earlier to say I've been tasked to be the new C3 officer when Major Lewis goes on maternity leave."

"C3? Hey, that's a city hall liaison! I'll get to see you more!"

"Really? Doesn't uncle do that?"

"Only for the big stuff. Ulysses leaves everything else, like sitting in public safety meetings, to his C3 officer."

"Interesting."

"So...," Callie's voice took on a roguish tone, "...anything scandalous?"

"Well...," Felina lowered her voice, "...It could be, so I need your advice."

"For what? And why are you suddenly whispering?" Callie demanded.

"Umm..."

"Let me guess..." Felina could hear the wheels turning in the blonde's head. "You have a potential partner in the next room, don't you?"

"Yep."

"Male or female?"

"Male."

"Gabriel?"

Felina snorted. "He wishes."

"So who is it?"

"I can't say."

"You can't say or you won't say?"

"Both."

Callie made angry noises, so Felina waited until her friend calmed down. "Callie, you know I would tell you if I could. It's just that, I can't right now. It's...complicated."

"Sure it is..." Callie huffed, disbelief dripping from her voice, but she regained her composure. "So, what did you want to ask?"

"OK, I know I might regret asking you this, but..."

"Mmm, hmm."

"Without giving me the gory details...," Felina took a deep breath, "...when did you decide to...uh...be with my uncle..."

Callie figured out what Felina was trying to ask and decided to make her friend work for it. "To what?"

"Don't make me say it."

"What fun would that be?"

Felina cringed and buried her head beneath a nearby pillow. "When did you decide to fuck my uncle?"

Callie laughed. "There. Don't you feel better?"

"No I don't!"

The Deputy Mayor and Commander's rather intimate relationship was not public knowledge. And if Callie had not inadvertently given Felina a clue to whom her lover was, no one in Megakat City would ever know. It was an impressive feat, as the Megakat City's Press Corps was rather large and tended to smell the blood in the water regarding anything illicit, very quickly. The fact the two of them had been dating for months without anyone finding out, was proof of their resolve to keep their relationship out of the public eye.

"Sorry, just had to do it." Callie's laughter died off. "But to be serious, it was during the walk on the beach after our date. You know the signs. You pretty much know what you're going to do before the date even starts. So you start getting mentally prepared...as well as physically."

"Like you did?"

"A lady is always prepared."

"A little too prepared."

"Like I'm sure you are right now." Callie snorted. "Because if you're not wearing that tank top and shorts combo that you wear when you sleepover at my condo, you're kidding yourself."

Felina sighed.

"What are you wearing?"

"Old dress uniform shirt."

"And no underwear right?"

"...Right."

"Told you."

Felina sighed again. "I suppose you're right."

"I know I am. So what's keeping you from fucking the tom?"

"Mixing work and pleasure...shirking duty..."

"Unless you're fucking a SWAT Kat, you really shouldn't have anything to worry about."

Felina inwardly groaned. Callie had an amazing tendency to know exactly what was going on and not realize it.

"This isn't like you to hesitate, Felina," Callie continued. "So do yourself a favor and do it. Just give me the details later."

"All right, all right."

"But regarding that tom...it's someone I know, right?"

Smiling, Felina couldn't help herself. "Bingo."

"That makes it easier to guess. I'll pepper you with questions later." Callie tittered, obviously enjoying herself. "Night, Felina."

"Good night."

Felina signed off and extracted herself from beneath her pillow. Laying back on it, she went over her friend's advice in her head. She smiled. Callie tended to be blunt, but she was right. Felina had already decided what she wanted to do to the SWAT Kat and had prepared for it. The only question was how to get things started.

Felina's smile dissolved into a smirk. It was time for something out of the trusty Feral Playbook.

And she knew exactly what to do.

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Razor couldn't sleep.

Still in a bit of pain due to the fifteen stitches Felina gave him, Razor ambled around her living room, trying not to be too nosy.

He was working on a good buzz due to drinking his three beers, Felina's beer, and the remaining two beers in the fridge. He wasn't sure why the beers hit him so hard. Felina's brand wasn't particularly strong. It might be due to exhaustion and blood loss.

Lightly rubbing his bandaged arm, Razor continued his aimless meandering. Like most Enforcer officers, Felina kept her apartment neat and tidy. It had a modern feel to it and looked barely lived in. Probably due to the fact, Felina had just moved in and like other officers, used her place to mostly rest and sleep between shifts.

She didn't seem to have anything personal displayed, but that didn't surprise Razor. If she displayed anything, it would be in her bedroom.

Speaking of bedrooms...

Razor glanced over at the closed bedroom door. He hoped she was okay. Feral's announcement of a potential promotion seemed like it shook her. He could understand why: During the time he was an Enforcer, Feral never gave a kat a hint about a possible promotion. So the robot knowing this meant that it also knew private things about her as well. As well its handlers. Who could those handlers be?

Frowning, he focused his attention back to the room he stood in, searching for some way he could show her his appreciation for her taking such a risk in patching him up. He had already cleaned her living room. No need for his medic to clean up the mess he caused. But he wanted to do something more.

His eyed lit on Felina's sidearm laying where she'd left it, on her bookshelf. Walking over, he picked it up and began giving it a good looking over.

He could rework her piece to give it a bit more firepower. Since it wasn't an official Enforcer sidearm but a Pumadyne prototype, Razor was sure he could get away with it and not get Felina in trouble for using a modified sidearm. And since he figured she would be like other gunners whose arms failed them in the field, she wouldn't be using it for a while.

Happy he found something he could do for her, Razor began to fieldstrip the gun, hopeful he'd found the cure for his insomnia and eager to start learning how it worked. So eager, he forgot to sit down...or hear Felina's bedroom door quietly open.

The pretty she-kat slipped out into her living room, noting the television was off, but the table light on the end table next to her sofa was turned on. Then she spotted the back of the SWAT Kat leaning against her bookcase. Razor had apparently taken her sidearm apart and was inspecting it with interest.

"Gunny?"

"Hmm?" Razor's head snapped up, but he didn't turn to look at her. He'd learned long ago to give a she-kat time to do any last minute adjustments...like closing a robe. "Sorry, Felina. Did I wake you?"

"No. I couldn't sleep. Just came out to see how my patient is doing."

"I'm...fine."

Razor turned to face Felina...and completely froze, the words he was going to say stuck in his throat.

Felina stood beside her bedroom door, clad in what appeared to be an old uniform shirt. The shirt itself was nothing special, only that it hugged her curves more than her dress did, and it appeared to be almost a size too small. The fact she left a few buttons undone to allow room for her ample breasts was just icing on the cake.

Felina tilted her head slightly to the side, and Razor became aware he was staring, fumbling with the pieces of her gun. He caught most of them before they fell but the gun barrel clattered to the floor. Muttering, he scooped down to pick it up, catching more appealing glimpse's of her body as he did so. Her long legs were toned, shapely, and had the right amount of muscle definition.

He took long moments appreciating the sights...and wishing they were wrapped around him.

"Hey," Felina said softy, after a moment, pointing to her face. "My eyes are up here."

"You have eyes?"

She laughed lightly, looking slightly embarrassed, and those feelings Razor thought he had squelched came roaring back. How many times did toms...or she-kats for that matter...have such visceral reactions towards her? Did she get used to it? Embarrassed by it? Or was it something she relished?

Standing up, Razor started placing the pieces of the gun back on the shelf. Modifying the sidearm would have to wait, as he was far too distracted to work on it right now.

Bemused, Felina asked, "What were you doing with my gun?"

"I thought I could remodel it to produce a little extra power. Since it's a prototype and not standard Enforcer issue, I thought you could get by with using it without suspicion if I reworked it." Razor replied, using all his will power to focus on Felina's face than her body. "Just my way of saying thanks for all your help."

"You don't have to do that."

"I know. But the chivalrous tom in me says to do this or get you some flowers," Razor replied. "But I'm thinking you'd like this more than flowers."

"Thank you, Gunny."

"I should be thanking you again. Besides, I couldn't sleep either."

Smiling, Felina walked over and moved behind Razor. Before he could ask what she was doing, she ran her claws down his back. Tingles of pleasure spread throughout his body, and he began to have trouble concentrating on anything else but Felina. And wanting her badly.

Not good.

"Hmm...You're tense. No wonder you can't sleep."

"Really?"

"Mmm, hmm."

As Felina continued to lightly rub his back, Razor became aware of her scent. Some combination of lemons and apples, which was very nice and sweet smelling. He smelled the same scent on the way to the wharf, but at the time it had been more subtle...now it was intoxicating.

He didn't quite understand it. Maybe it was because of the charged air between them that made his fur stand on end. It seemed that it magnified everything between, including her touch.

"Hey."

"Hmm?"

"It seems like I owe you a back massage," Felina purred quietly, her paws coming to rest on his shoulders. "Would you like one?"

He noticed her voice was soft...almost shy. That wasn't like her.

It was an incredible turn on. But it was also moving into very dangerous territory.

"I don't know..."

"Aww..."

Felina slowly moved her paws across Razor's shoulders to let them lightly rub his arm. Her silken voice tickling his ear, caused his mind to wander into inappropriate places.

"It could be fun..."

Razor kicked himself at his reactions. She was teasing him! A very sexy tease that he liked very much, but he had no defense against. Had she figured out what buttons to push? Or he was he too buzzed and exhausted to put up a good offense?

"Lina..."

"As I said Gunny, you can only call me that in the bedroom." Felina leaned in closer, letting her chest just barely touch Razor's body. "So what do you say?"

The last of Razor's willpower crumbled and the SWAT Kat found himself nodding. Gently taking his paw, Felina guided him toward her bedroom, a triumphant gleam in her eyes.

Feral Play #398. She would have to thank her aunt for that one later.


	8. Drawing the Final Straw: Part 2

Hello everyone! This is the final chapter of Drawing the Short Straw.

Felina finds out that it isn't wise to underestimate a SWAT Kat.

Author's note: Huzzah! The final chapter. I'm a little sad. It's been fun to write.

This isn't a true final chapter. I will have an epilogue that ties things up and sets the possible next story in motion. I'm still trying to figure it out, so I'm open to suggestions.

There are things of an explicit nature in this chapter, so if you don't want to read, skip down to the end.

Question: What's more interesting? Ferals having a playbook, or that there are around 400 of them?

Thanks to all my reviewers and my readers. I'm glad you all like this story. And thanks to Ulyferal for being the best beta a girl can have.

Enjoy!

-AkaneKitty

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Drawing the Short Straw

Drawing the Final Straw: Part 2

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Razor knew he was in trouble.

Pretty much stripped down to his mask and bandaged arm, he relinquished himself to the back massage, a straddled Felina was giving him.

True to her word, she began to work her magic, feeling the knots in his muscles loosen up. At least he wouldn't be stiff and hurting too badly when he went to sleep...whenever that was.

He was definitely going to have to buy T-Bone a beer after kicking his tail.

Razor winced slightly when Felina began working on a particularly sore muscle in his lower back. He'd walked right into the trap Felina laid for him. That's what he got for underestimating the fairer sex. But what was he going to do about it?

Felina thought she was in control, but he still had a few tricks up his sleeve. It didn't take much for a battle to turn, especially when it came to the bedroom.

Of course, Felina wasn't going to make this easy.

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Felina heard a stifled groan from Razor when a push on his back produced several pops.

The tom really was tense. She was sure that mostly due to his fight, and not what was about to come.

She smiled, starting to rake her claws lightly across his back. He really did have nice muscles. Not as big as his friends, but big enough.

Not bad.

"Gunny?"

"Yeah?"

"When you were going to modify my gun...," Felina continued to run her claws along his back, "...weren't you too buzzed to do that? You did have several beers."

Razor chuckled. "Felina, I'll have you know I designed one of my best missiles while drunk."

"Really?" Felina's eyes widened. "Which one?"

"Scrambler missile."

"No way!"

"T-Bone bet me I wouldn't figure out how to make it work in one night. So with pizza and Litterbin or cleaning out the Turbokat's fuel lines on the line, I hunkered down and got to it," Razor replied, enjoying Felina scratching his back. "It was going nowhere, so I started to drink, knowing I could at least get through cleaning the fuel lines buzzed."

"And?"

"When I woke up an hour later, I found some drunken scribbles on my schematics. I used them and they worked! T-Bone couldn't believe it." Razor laughed. "But don't tell him any of this. He still thinks I had an epiphany or something."

Felina shook her head, smiling. "Gunny, I would believe that more if you said you used katnip."

"Well, that might have inspired earlier prototypes..."

Felina laughed lightly, and Razor twisted himself underneath her to lie flat on his back. She looked down at him. "What?"

"I heard a very beautiful she-kat laugh. Just wanted to get a better look."

"Flatterer." Felina reached down to scratch Razor's ears. "You'll do, Gunny."

A deep purr filled the room, and she took the opportunity to slip her paw from his ears to his mask. Before she could do anything else, Razor reached up and grabbed her paw, holding it with a gentle, but firm, grip.

"Don't even think about it, Lina."

"Aww. It was worth a shot," Felina sighed dramatically. "Usually I get to see the face of the tom I'm about to fuck."

"Oh, is that what's going to happen?" Razor sat up to go nose to nose with Felina, forcing her to lean back a bit. "Because I thought I was going to have to do all the work. Even though I'm injured and everything."

"Look, smartass...Don't you know, you can talk your way out of..."

Razor leaned forward and kissed her, cutting off the rest of her words. When she didn't pull away, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her body tight against his.

Sliding his paws underneath her shirt, he felt her curves. As he had experienced on their bike rides, she was soft...and warm to his touch.

Her sexy purr sent blood rushing down below his belly.

"Gunny..."

"Hey, I never said I didn't want to do all the work."

Pulling out his paws, he began to unbutton the few buttons still done up on her shirt, letting it slide casually off her shoulders. Tossing it aside, he leaned back a bit to get a better look, wanting to see every inch of her. To his consternation, he couldn't help but stare.

She was perfect.

Felina blushed despite herself. "Hey, it's not polite to stare."

"I know!"

Smirking, Felina wrapped her arms behind his head and kissed him again. Her body sizzled as he ran his paws along her body, stirring up freshly buried and confusing feelings. Feelings that she would have to examine later.

Pushing them aside, she shifted one paw back up to his ears, tenderly scratching them again. Her gentle whisper stirred his heart.

"Gunny?"

"Hmm?"

"I-" Felina looked away briefly before locking eyes with him. "I'm glad you're with me tonight."

Although she didn't quite say it, Razor understood what she was trying to tell him so to spare her any embarrassment, he leaned down to kiss her neck, eliciting a soft moan from her lips.

"Me, too."

Razor pushed Felina back onto the bed. She barely had time to feel the cool sheets against her heated fur before he pounced on top of her, his weight pinning her against him.

"Mmm...Usually I'm on top."

"Oh, really?"

Felina looked into his eyes and gave him a seductive smile, adjusting her body to his. "But I can make an exception."

He remembered that look. It was the same look that she gave him right after that robot exploded. A look that held her vulnerability, her strength, and her feelings toward him. A look he never wanted to pull away from.

Razor wanted her now more than ever.

Making room for himself, he pushed into her, feeling Felina's body grasp him. He began to move, bringing his mouth down to the soft curve of her neck. Purring, she arched into his thrusts, matching his movements. Together their fur became damp with sweat.

Pure bliss coiled inside Felina, threatening to break free at any moment. She was fucking a SWAT Kat. A SWAT Kat! Never did she think it would even be possible. And she wasn't eating him alive...he was!

Relishing the sensations, she gripped him tighter, spreading her legs a bit. It was nice to be wrong for a change.

He groaned and closed his eyes. "Damn it, Lina."

She felt unbelievably hot. Her intoxicating smell made him ache with need, nearly losing any sense of control. Razor could barely register her claws beginning to dig into his back, or her purrs in his ear. He increased his movements, gaining a soft mewling sound from her lips.

"Gunny, I'm going to-"

Felina clutched his shoulders and wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him even closer. She shuddered as the waves of pleasure rolled over her body, shaking her to the core.

Hearing her call out his name, and tighten around him, Razor broke apart inside her, relishing the last ebb of pleasure flow from his body.

For long moments they laid together breathless, trying to compose themselves. Felina was the first to recover, rubbing a paw along her sweaty brow.

"I needed that."

"Is that so?" Razor shifted himself so he could look deeply into her eyes. "Because I'm not finished."

"You're what?" Felina's eyes widened with surprise. "What do you mean you're not finished?"

Razor stared down at her, his grin turning roguish.

"Hey, I'm not a SWAT Kat for nothing, you know."

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There was something to be said about Enforcer training regimes.

Razor smiled to himself as he dressed himself, slipping gloves over his paws. It took a few more rounds, but he was finally able to put the lovely lieutenant to sleep. Felina had quite a bit of stamina.

He glanced at her half open bedroom door. At least someone was getting some sleep. She had a cute purr when she slept. Too bad he couldn't stick around long enough to enjoy it. Daybreak was coming soon and he needed to slip away under the cover of darkness lest he draw unwanted attention to Felina...not that he wanted to go. He considered it bad manners to leave without saying anything.

Going to Felina's bookcase, he picked up the pieces of her gun he'd left there earlier. He needed to modify her gun and the only way to do that was to take it with him. He wasn't sure how he was going to get it back to her, but he'd figure out something.

"You still here, Gunny? I thought you'd be gone by now."

Turning, Razor saw Felina coming out of her bedroom, tying a short robe around her body. It barely covered her. He fought to keep a smile off his face. As usual, Felina looked hot, especially with the tussled hair and the sleepy but satisfied expression on her face.

"I probably should be, but I was stalling. I hate to leave without saying goodbye."

Felina smiled at him. "No walk of shame for you, hmm?"

"I never said that. I just find it rude, regardless if you regretted it the next morning or not."

Still smiling, Felina retrieved Razor's jacket from the arm of her sofa. Walking over to him, she helped him shrug the jacket on his shoulders.

"Did you get any sleep?"

"A little."

"Sorry about that."

"Don't be. I can function on little sleep." Razor smiled at her. "Besides, I enjoyed not getting much sleep."

Felina blushed, but covered by patting him on his injured arm.

"Now Gunny, I want you to keep that bandage clean and dry for a couple of days. Wetness and dirt can foster bacteria, and you don't want your wound getting infected. After that you can take the bandage off. And I'm sure you know how to take stitches out."

"Yes, dear."

"Smartass."

Razor chuckled then showed Felina the pieces of her sidearm before slipping them into his pocket. "I'm taking your gun so I can modify it. Hope you don't mind."

"Naw, I don't mind. I'd be too mad to use it right now, anyway, and I do have other non duty guns."

Razor zipped up his jacket. "Now I need to get out of here without being seen. Got any ideas?"

"This leads to a fire escape." Felina moved over to a window beside her bookcase and unlatched it, lifting it up. "It'll take you down to the back alley, which should keep you out of sight until you get close to your bike. Just look out for construction workers. They should be reporting for work soon."

Felina watched as Razor crawled through the open window and stepped onto the fire escape. He paused a moment to turn and face her, leaning close. She moved toward him and gave him a not so chaste kiss.

"Take care of yourself, Gunny. I..."

"Don't worry about it." Razor reached forward to caress Felina's cheek. "Thanks for everything, Lina. And congrats on your new role."

Razor moved away from the window and bounded down the fire escape, disappearing into the darkness of the alley. Felina watched him go, feeling the pangs of conflicting feelings once again. Why was she sad about him leaving? She was never this upset about Gabriel leaving. Or any other tom for that matter.

It was as if she didn't want him to go.

Shaking her head, Felina closed the window and walked back into her bedroom. It was nearly seven a.m., she was wide awake, and yet she had the evening shift. Great.

Shedding her robe, Felina stepped into her bathroom. Perhaps a run would clear her mind.

It was going to be a long day.

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Chance's truck lurched to a halt in front of the garage.

Jake was going to kill him. He was so late! The garage opened soon and to make matters worse, he was too busy enjoying Pop's granddaughter's company that he didn't even check in with his buddy at all last night.

Chance hopped out of the truck and slammed the door behind him. He had to make it up to Jake. Maybe his she-kat had a friend, and they could do a double date? Maybe even clean out the Turbokat fuel lines without Jake asking him to.

Entering the garage, Chance found rows of cars with their hoods up, ready to be worked on. Chance sighed. Friday mornings always brought in a ton of cars for whatever reason. Barring any city emergency, it looked like he and Jake would be stuck working on them all day.

Speaking of the tom, where was he?

"Jake!" Chance called out, looking around. "I'm back!"

"It's about time."

Startled, Chance yelped and turned around to see Jake standing behind him, writing on a clipboard. "Buddy! Good morning! Hey, sorry about being late and not checking in. It was sort of a hot date."

Saying nothing, Jake simply handed Chance the clipboard. The striped tabby looked down at it. "What's this?"

"It's the list of cars that came in this morning. They're all due this evening, so I'd get started if I were you."

"Me? What will you be doing?"

"I will be down in the hangar rewiring my Cyclotron," Jake replied calmly. "You want to know why I'm rewriring it?"

"Yeah..."

"Because a certain friend of mine, who was too distracted by the Deputy Mayor, failed to plug in all the wire leads. And had wired it all the same color. And didn't follow any marking scheme!"

"Err..."

"Chance, because of all that, I was nearly stranded in the downtown bar district all night! By some miracle, I wasn't discovered by any off duty Enforcers. I just barely got back myself!"

"You could have called me!"

Jake snorted. "Right. Like you would answer your non emergency ring on the communicator during your big date. And you know I wouldn't call you unless it was important."

Chance flattened his ears, feeling chagrined. "I'm sorry, Jake."

Jake expelled his breath, feeling his anger die down somewhat. "I know. Just fix the cars and we'll be even. I need to get down to the hangar and rewire that bike."

"Right." Chance paused, sniffing the air around Jake. "Why do you smell like apples?"

"Umm...I must have walked through some puddles behind the bars downtown." Jake said quickly, backing away. "I know they toss all those leftover mixed drinks back there all the time."

Jake walked to the back of the garage, disappearing down the hole that led to the hangar. Chance watched him go before turning to head to his room to change, confused.

Mixed drinks? Odd. He didn't think there were mixed drinks made of apples and lemons.


	9. Epilogue

Hi everyone! Here's the epilogue for Drawing the Short Straw.

How does Razor capturing a thug help him get Felina's gun back to her?

Author's notes: Here it is. The final chapter.

Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed my story. I'm extremely humbled and flattered that you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing this.

Extra special thanks and kudos to ulyferal, the best beta a girl can have.

The story between Felina and Razor is not done. I'm working on the next series plot right now, and hope to start publishing it later.

Here's some quick trivia:

This story started as a one shot a couple of years ago, and then it stalled. It came back to life under the name Déjà vu, were Felina and Razor was going to meet up in the future and flashback about their night together. It wasn't working, so I turned it into the story you see here. I like the title and the concept, so I might try to write another of their adventures like that in the future.

I tend to recycle certain characters in some of my stories. Can you guess the character I might be using in the future?

Felina's dress shirt as sleepwear came from watching The Golden Child. Seriously. I liked the way it looked on the lead actress and it suck. Felina was going to wear a robe for that scene.

Again, thank you all for reading. I had a blast, and I hope you all did too.

AkaneKitty

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Drawing the Short Straw:

Epilogue

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Razor held his choke hold around the thug's throat for a second longer before lowering him to the ground.

Working quickly, he zip-tied the thug's paws and feet together then dragged him to the middle of the open room. Righting a rickety chair, he sat the thug down and bound him to it.

The thug was a robber, known for holding up stores on the west side of Megakat City. He was nicknamed the Ghost because he seemingly appeared out of nowhere, robbed stores, and vanished into the night. His antics frustrated the Enforcers who wanted him caught, badly.

This was exactly why Razor selected him.

After figuring out the Ghost's M.O., he followed the guy to his hideout, an abandoned apartment building close to the west side stores, and easily snuck up on him. The Ghost's successful robbery streak had made him overconfident, which made him easily caught.

Producing a small packet of smelling salts, Razor waved it in front of the thug's face. It wouldn't take long for the thug to stir, so he knelt in front of him, waiting.

The Ghost finally roused. As his eyes opened, he beheld the shocking sight of a SWAT Kat kneeling in front of him. Angry and afraid, he tried to escape but couldn't move and that's when he realized he was tightly bound to a chair with his arms behind his back.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"You're a SWAT Kat! You aren't supposed to be concerned with petty thugs like me!" he shouted, still struggling to get free.

"You thought wrong."

Ghost gulped audibly. "Wha...what do you want with me?"

Razor smirked at him, produced a disposable cell phone like a magic trick, then held it out to the thug in his left paw. "I want you to turn yourself in."

"Are you crazy? I'd never turn myself-" He choked off when the SWAT Kat raised his glovatrix and pointed it right in his face.

"You want to eat a missile? I hear it hurts...a lot."

Of course, Razor wouldn't do that. But the thug didn't have to know it.

Sweat beaded the Ghost's face as he nodded toward the phone. "What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to identify yourself to the dispatcher. Tell them you committed the robberies, and where you can be found," Razor replied. "Oh, and don't mention I was here, save that for the responding officers. Got it?"

"But-"

Razor ground his glovatrix against the right side of the Ghost's face. "Missiles, Ghosty."

The Ghost began blubbering as Razor pulled back a bit to hit a button on the cell phone which automatically dialed the Enforcer's emergency line. He held the phone to the Ghost's left ear while the line connected.

"Megakat City Emergency."

Razor held the phone just long enough for the Ghost to tell the dispatcher who he was, where he was, and what he did before snapping the phone closed then dropped it to the ground, crushing it underfoot.

"Now Ghosty, when the Enforcers arrive, I want you to tell them I was here. Yell and scream it out if you have to. I'm going to retire to a place where I can watch your theatrics." Razor tapped the side of Ghost's face with his glovatrix. "...And I will be watching."

The Ghost started blubbering again as Razor walked away from him, bounding up some nearby stairs to get to a hidden alcove above. Producing binoculars from a pocket, he settled into the shadows, waiting for the Enforcers to arrive. If they followed protocol, they would eventually elevate the call to the C3 officer, who happened to be Felina today.

He smiled. He hadn't seen the lovely Lieutenant in a while, but his heart skipped a beat when he thought of her. Shaking his head, he pushed those feelings aside, focusing on the Ghost's position.

Besides, it had been just a one night stand...right?

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_**The House of Falling Leaves...lunch time...**_

"C'mon. Felina...Tell me!"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't."

Callie pouted at Felina over her glass of sake. Felina, still in her dress uniform, opted for green tea instead. The two she-kats were eating sushi at the House of Falling Leaves, a Siamese restaurant located in Megakat City's Siamesetown district.

Callie had invited Felina (with Feral arriving later) there to celebrate her mini-promotion to Master C3 officer, with the hope that the atmosphere would loosen her friend's tongue.

It didn't work.

Callie frowned, finishing off her glass of sake. Ever since that night Felina deliberately gave vague answers, seemingly not wanting to spill major details about her lover. It didn't seem like it was a bad night...Felina had been smiling all the next day when Callie caught up with her.

It was also very odd...Felina never was shy about giving up details before, either while sober or inebriated. Why was this tom so special?

Felina was amused when Callie poured herself another glass of sake. "Hey, you're not supposed to pour your own sake."

"I know." Callie sighed dramatically. "I'm just perturbed my friend stopped giving me juicy details."

"Sorry, Callie. I would love to, but..."

"And again, why not?"

Felina picked up a piece of sushi with her chopsticks. "I don't want to hear anything about this from Uncle Ulysses. He tries not to let on that he knows, but it comes out eventually."

"How would he know?"

Felina smirked at her. "Callie, you do know that my uncle gets a lot of information from you during your pillow talk after sex? It's better than alcohol."

Callie blanched. "No way!"

"It's true. How else did I find out what to get you for your anniversary party a few months ago?"

"That tomkat!"

Chuckling, Felina casually reached for another piece of sushi, relieved she had managed to distract her friend from the sensitive subject...at least for now.

She hated not being able to tell. Callie was a good friend and she enjoyed sharing stories with her. But there was no way she would be able to tell her about Razor.

What she had said was true; her uncle and Callie chatted a lot during their pillow talks, and Felina was sure that particular tidbit of information would get back to her if she told. Uncle Ulysses was pretty much concerned about her happiness, so he wasn't tyrannical like her father was concerning her choice of mates, but a SWAT Kat was another story.

Besides, she was still confused about her feelings regarding Razor, herself. Was it just a one night stand or something more? Would it be? Could it be? She wasn't sure. And he still had her off duty gun.

Callie was stabbing her piece of sushi with her chopsticks. "I'm going to kill that kat!"

"Kill who?" A deep voice interrupted.

As Feral walked up to the table, Callie gave Felina a 'we're not finished with this conversation' look before turning toward him with her best smile. Felina chuckled. Always the politician, Callie could change her outward feelings on a dime.

"Oh, Council member Froyd was yammering about the robberies in his district again at the public safety meeting today. It's getting old," she said easily.

"Especially since that idiot won't let me increase Enforcer patrols or let me set up a task force to catch that Ghost character." Feral pulled up a chair and sat down, nodding toward Felina. "Anything else I should know, Master C3 officer?"

"The northern districts are concerned about the increase of katnip arrests, but nothing else of note," Felina replied. "Everything else you've heard about already and I've put it in a report for you."

"Good." Feral nodded, stealing a piece of sushi from Callie's plate. "How's the new position been treating you?"

"It's a lot to process and learn but I'm glad I'm getting reports on time from the various units... that would have slowed me down even more." Felina sipped her green tea. "Though I think it's mostly because I'm your niece. The captains don't want to piss off the Commander by hampering his niece's new job."

Feral chuckled. "Why do you think I lobbied for you to get that position temporarily? I've never seen so many on time reports cross my desk in a while, it's refreshing."

"Very clever, Uncle."

"I try."

"By the way," Callie spoke up. "I saw a lot of officers cleaning the outside of Enforcer Headquarters today. Are you starting a new cleaning program?"

Felina shifted uncomfortably in her seat as Feral good mood darkened a moment. "Those tomkats had the audacity to forget their training and leer at my niece."

"Eh?"

"It's the dress uniform." Felina sighed. "I'm sorry, Uncle."

"Don't apologize for those idiots! They should know their training and respect your rank!" Feral grumbled. "So for their lack of discipline, they got cleaning duty and sensitivity training. And if I could take away bars for it, I would. No she-kat officer under my command should have to deal with such behavior."

At that instant, Felina's watch beeped. She was glad for the distraction. "I'd better get going. This afternoon I'm finishing up my rotation supporting the Street Patrol units."

"Then you move to your new office at Headquarters, right?" Callie asked.

"Yep. My first one ever." Felina nodded. "All I ever had was a desk and a locker and I shared meeting space with the other helicopter brigade leaders on occasion. I just hope I can keep it organized."

Feral chuckled. "Before you go, I have something for you Felina."

"What?"

Feral reached into his overcoat and withdrew a small box. He handed it to Felina. "Open it."

Eagerly Felina opened the box. Sitting there on crushed velvet was a silver badge. She peered at it. "What's this?"

"The new Master C3 officer's badge." Feral smiled proudly at her. "You'll be the first to wear it."

"But..."

"I know what you're thinking but it was Major Lewis who okayed it and, as a matter of fact, suggested it. Normally this is conferred in a ceremony, but since your position is temporary, I think I'll save it for when you're eventually promoted to Lieutenant Grade 2," he said, a pleased look in his eyes.

Felina looked up and smiled. "Then I humbly request my commanding officer pin it to my uniform."

"Granted."

With Callie looking on, Feral proudly pinned the new badge to Felina's uniform. Gathering her things, Felina stood up as did Feral, who gave her a salute.

"Carry on, Lieutenant."

Felina saluted back, her excitement bubbling through. "Yes, sir."

Feral sat back down as Felina walked away, just noticing Callie beginning to grind her knife against her chopsticks.

"Calico dear, why are you shaving your chopsticks?"

"Who me?"

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To Razor's surprise, he didn't have to wait too long for the Enforcers to arrive, hearing sirens in the distance. Only minutes later, he heard an officer barking instructions, then the door to the place being kicked in.

The SWAT Kat backed himself further into the shadows as a couple of Enforcers converged around the tied up thug.

"Well...What do we have here?" One of the officers, who Razor identified as Stevens by his name tag, chuckled. "It's the Ghost! We've been looking for you for weeks!"

"And apparently hoisted by his own petard," Steven's partner Owens chuckled. "Guess your friends didn't like you too much, eh?"

"They didn't do this to me!" The Ghost struggled in his chair. "It was the SWAT Kats!"

The officers looked at each other in disbelief. "SWAT Kats?"

"It was the smaller one! I swear!"

Owens laughed, derisively. "They never appear alone, Ghost!"

"And I didn't see neither hide nor hair of their jet or those bikes they use," Stevens added, shaking his head. "You're just yanking our tails!"

"But it's true! I swear!" Ghost was practically screaming now. "He ordered me to call you!"

"Why would the SWAT Kats waste their time with small time scum like you?" Stevens asked, sarcastically, crossing his arms. "I think someone has figured out that criminals apprehended by the SWAT Kats get extra special treatment during booking."

"He was here! You gotta believe me!"

Stevens sighed and looked over to Owens. "What do you think? Should we call in the Sarge?"

"We have to. If there was SWAT Kat involvement and we didn't report it, the brass would have our tails."

Stevens nodded, glaring at the perp. "Why can't this ever be easy?"

The Ghost whimpered, as Stevens keyed his radio, requesting his Sergeant. Razor smiled to himself, noting the officer didn't report any possible SWAT Kat involvement during his call.

That would be up to the discretion of the C3 officer on duty.

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_**Syndicate Observation Post**__  
_  
The Boss watched the screens with interest as Doc replayed Monitor Four's final broadcasted moments.

He was impressed. Even though his Monitor's lethal abilities would have felled a normal kat, the SWAT Kat made quick work of it after managing to find the robot's weak spot.

He would love to have such talent join the Syndicate.

"It's amazing that tom knew exactly were to jab that stun baton. I'm really glad my Monitors have the ability to self-destruct," Doc spoke up, his paws flying over his keyboard. "That's another area I need to figure out how to properly armor."

"At least he pointed it out for us," the Boss replied. "Now we can start producing our advanced models once the revisions are made."

"Yes, sir."

"By the way, what are the Monitor's current status?"

"Shutdown. Once Four blew up I didn't want to risk them being discovered. And we have other means of procuring information."

"Keep it that way. We don't want anyone else knowing about them too soon."

The Boss' phone warbled, so he plucked it from his suit's pocket. "Yes?"

Doc continued his furious typing as the Boss seemed to get increasingly agitated with the caller.

"What do you mean Mr. Young wants me to take his place at a City Hall dinner party? I thought I was supposed to be making money for him as his junior associate!"

Curious, Doc started pulling up relevant information pertaining to the dinner party as the Boss began growling into his phone.

"How the hell would this elevate me to senior associate? All this means is that he wants a shmuck to take care of his obligations while he plays golf with Mayor Manx!"

After scanning his screens, Doc spotted an interesting piece of information on a list of current dinner party attendees and motioned for the Boss. The Boss read the screens, a smile forming on his lips.

"On second thought, I will attend the dinner party. Put me down plus one...I'll be taking my sister you idiot! She loves dinner parties."

The Boss closed his phone, chuckling. "Doc, how can I ever repay you?"

"More money into R&D would be nice."

"Done." The Boss put his phone away. "Mimi will like meeting her idol."

"And you will like meeting her as well." Doc replied casually, his paws still flying over his keyboard. The Boss smirked.

"What can I say Doc? I like she-kats who can take care of themselves."

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_**West end of Megakat City...**_

The two officers stood and waited some ten minutes before a kat, with the rank markings of a sergeant, finally arrived. His nameplate identified him as Mallory. He strode up to the small group, halting next to the thug in the chair. He studied the tied up thug a moment before turning his attention to his officers, who saluted briskly.

"Isn't this the Ghost?"

"Yes, sir." Stevens replied. "And get this Sarge...he's claiming a SWAT Kat did this to him."

"A SWAT Kat?" Mallory exclaimed. "I haven't seen anything in the past few weeks that indicated they were still around, or even in the general area."

Both Stevens and Owens nodded. "There was no telltale jet or bike exhaust either, Sarge, when we arrived. It was quiet."

Mallory stood in front of the Ghost. "You sure it was a SWAT Kat? Not some figment of a katnip trip?"

"I know a SWAT Kat when I see one and it was that smaller one that did this!" Ghost screeched.

Sighing, Mallory returned his attention to his officers, rubbing a paw against his forehead. "I'm going to call in the C3. We might not believe this idiot but the C3 has to know so she can elevate this to the Commander or not."

"And cover our tails." Owens added.

"Say, isn't our C3 on duty today the lovely Lieutenant Feral?" Stevens asked.

"Yes." Mallory nodded, taking out his radio. "Why do you ask?"

"Have you seen her in her dress uniform? Where has she been hiding that body?" Stevens pretended to swoon. "That outfit hugs all the right places."

"Keep your 'admiration' of the Lieutenant to yourself, Stevens." Mallory growled at him. "If the Commander heard you, he would have you cleaning the tarmac at Enforcer Headquarters with a toothbrush AND reassign you to sensitivity training. A lot of toms have been staring after our new C3 officer and he is not amused."

"Well, she is his niece." Owens replied.

"A very hot niece." Stevens added, smirking a bit.

"Stevens! Why don't you start your report outside before I report you to the Commander myself? I have a call to make." Mallory snarled at Stevens. "Owens, you stay here and guard our guest."

"Yes, sir!"

Both officers saluted. Stevens walked outside as Owens took up a position next to the Ghost.

As the sergeant keyed his radio, Razor felt his sudden surprising anger at Steven's comments subside somewhat.

Stevens was a very lucky kat.

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Felina sat in the back of an Enforcer cruiser being driven around the city, finishing up a report on her laptop.

She never had a driver before, but she guessed it was a necessity. She would never finish up a good portion of her reports if she had to drive or fly herself everywhere. Being the C3 officer had its perks.

C3 officers handled logistics and were liaisons between various departments and outside offices. The grease on the wheels as Major Lewis described it. They reported to those in charge what was happening and if anything needed their attention. As the Master C3 officer, Felina had powers of escalation or de-escalation for all Enforcer issues.

Knowing which applied was a fine art.

Today was Felina's last rotation with the Enforcer Street Patrol units. As preparation for her new role, the Commander had her take rotations with various units so she could get to know the majors and captains a bit more.

Starting tomorrow she would take up residence at Enforcer Headquarters in her new office and start being the liaison between Enforcer Headquarters, the mayor's office, and DA's office. Subordinates would then funnel needed reports from the various Enforcer units to her office.

Felina closed her laptop and stretched. She missed flying, but helping out Street Patrol was fun. She had more contact with katizens, who greatly appreciated her and the officer's help. That took the sting of being grounded away.

"Ma'am?"

Felina broke out of her reverie as her driver addressed her. "Yes, Tory?"

"Sergeant Mallory is requesting your presence on the west side of town."

"Mallory...wasn't he called in by Stevens earlier about arresting the Ghost?"

"I think so ma'am."

"Hmm...It's odd the Sergeant would need me so quickly, especially for a perp that turned himself in," Felina mused aloud. She turned her attention back to her driver. "Let's go Tory. We'd better get there before the Commander radios me asking why this call escalated so quickly."

"Yes ma'am."

oOo oOo oOo oOo oOo

Razor was alerted to Felina's arrival when the officer and the sergeant suddenly stiffened and saluted. Following their line of sight, he adjusted his binoculars and spotted Felina walking toward Mallory. He smiled. Now he understood why toms were getting in trouble.

Felina's blue and gray dress uniform certainly did hug every curve. Her skirt, while conservative, showed off just enough leg. And the black boots, that were probably designed to help her in the field, just made her look sexier.

She looked great, but Razor still preferred the Felina that looked like she'd just come out of a gun fight.

"All right Sergeant...," Felina said after returning their salutes, "...what's going on?"

"There in that chair is our elusive Ghost," Mallory replied. "My officers found him like that when they arrived."

"Mmm, hmm. So why do you need me?"

"Our friend there, says a SWAT Kat did this to him."

"Really?" Felina looked surprised. "I haven't seen either one in a while."

"I know, ma'am. We didn't see any sign of them when we arrived." Mallory nodded. "We're thinking he's on a bad katnip trip and his friends tied him up, but protocol dictates we send this up the chain."

Felina walked in front of the Ghost and knelt down on one knee. "OK, Ghost...who did this to you?"

Wild eyed and disgusted he wasn't being believed, he nearly spit in her face as he shouted, "It was the smaller SWAT Kat, you idiot!" Owens stepped up and cuffed him lightly on the back of his head to make him mind his manners.

"Smaller one? Oh, he means Gun...err...the wizzo." Felina stood up. "He certainly has the means of getting in and out of here, but..."

"It was him!" The Ghost spat.

Felina sighed. "Sergeant, have your officers take this guy into custody and do a field drug test on him just to rule it out."

"Yes, ma'am."

"And while a SWAT Kat might have done this, I'm not going to escalate this to the Commander. There's nothing we Enforcers could do at this point. But note it in your reports. I'll explain this to the Commander later at my briefings meeting."

After saluting, Mallory and Owens cut the Ghost free, dragging the thug away. As Felina began following them, a small pebble landed at her feet. She halted, frowning.

"Sergeant, I'm going to take a quick look around. Guard your prisoner, but be ready for anything."

Looking around, Felina spied a stairway that lead to a darkened alcove above. Narrowing her eyes, she rested a paw on the gun that rode on her hip and climbed the stairs.

Reaching the alcove, Felina peered into the darkness, her paw coming to grip her gun in its holster. How she wished for a flashlight.

"Hmm...being the Master C3 officer looks good on you. I like it," a familiar voice came from the darkness.

Felina exhaled, taking her paw off her gun. "You and every other tom, Gunny."

Razor emerged from the shadows, putting his pair of binoculars away. He grinned at her. "So I've heard."

Felina chuckled, feeling her mood lighten. "I guess you're the one that orchestrated that little scene down there?"

"Me? All I saw was a tom on a bad katnip trip. I was just doing my civic duty as a concerned katizen."

"Yeah right."

"Actually, I heard this was your last day with Street Patrol, so I had to come up with something to get you out here. I'm just glad the officers followed protocol instead of blowing it off."

"So what's up?"

Razor pulled out Felina's off duty gun and handed it back to her. "Your new off duty gun milady."

Felina rolled her eyes as she took her gun back from him. "What did you do to it?"

"Modified it to give you a bit more kick. It should add some penetrating power to your ammo." Razor explained. "It'll still take your regular ammo, so that's one less thing to worry about."

"Thanks Gunny."

"I still should be thanking you. You took a real risk with me Lina, and I appreciate it."

"Gunny..."

"I know."

Felina tucked the gun behind her back in the waistband of her skirt, letting her overcoat conceal it. "How's your arm?"

"Better. I took the stitches out myself days ago."

"Did T-Bone suspect anything?"

"Other than smelling your perfume on me, nope. I forgot that tom has a very sensitive nose."

Felina smirked at him. "I sort of wear that perfume for that reason, you know."

Razor smiled despite himself. "Marking your territory?"

"You'd think that about me?

Mallory's voice drifted up towards them. "Lieutenant?"

"I'm fine, Sergeant. I'll be right down." Felina looked back toward Razor. "I should go now. Thanks for the awesome thank you gift, Gunny."

She turned to walk back down the stairs, and Razor found himself blurting out, "If everything goes well in this city, I won't be seeing you as much."

Felina stopped dead in her tracks. He sounded a bit sad...almost hurt. And she found herself feeling exactly the same way. If things continued the way they were going, there wouldn't be the SWAT Kats flying around. And she wouldn't be seeing her Gunny either.

She wouldn't like that at all.

"Gunny, I'm sure we'll see each other." Felina looked back toward him. "If you can orchestrate this type of stunt then I wouldn't put it past you to figure something else out."

Razor chuckled. "True..."

"Besides, you do know where I live, right?"

"Yep..."

Smiling, Felina walked back over and gave Razor a passionate kiss, pausing briefly to lightly scratch his ears.

"So don't be a stranger, Gunny. All right?"

Felina gave Razor one last lingering look before walking back down the stairs, shouting orders as she went. He smiled at her retreating form.

Yeah. He definitely wouldn't be a stranger.


End file.
